GMOA vs ETCA: Sad state of professionals

The question is, have we lost it all? Going back a couple of decades ago people looked upon doctors as one of the most ethical and respected professionals as they were considered a rational, educated, reasonable and responsible section of the society who are considered doing a noble job for the country and its people. To be fair, today the majority are doing the same noble work, but the front-end voice they represent as doctors via GMOA has been hijacked and is driven by a political agenda no doubt.

As responsible citizens we must look at things pragmatically. We know that the country is in difficulty, heavy burden on debt and large amount of unproductive projects generating nothing. The country needs to be put back on a footing where jobs are created in manufacturing and professional services and not promoting three-wheeler drivers and housemaids and killing our next generations to come.

A recent GMOA protest against ETCA​

Last week the GMOA Secretary came on media and spoke of the Indo-Lanka Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) and tried to connect the Indian Government grant to Sri Lanka and the request made by Prime Minister to supply ambulances to Western and Southern Provinces to ETCA. The doctor in his rhetoric said that it is better to have trishaws instead of high-tech ambulances to transfer patients from accident sites to hospital care. 

Whilst accepting the majority of jobs were given to Sri Lankans, he tried to instigate fear saying that a few Indians too would be employed for technical assistance and that this the bad plan behind ETCA. It seems that the doctor concerned is not in the “well”, but under the “well”, as we all know in a globalised environment even grants take place in different patterns and agreements also have some benefits for both parties leaving aside a bilateral agreement.

 Forgotten the Chinese way of doing projects?

The most amazing thing is that during the last regime we can all remember a large number of Chinese projects were going on simultaneously including a proposal to hand over land at the Port City on a permanent basis to China. From Hambantota Port to Norochcholai Power Plant, thousands of Chinese workers were brought to this country and the wages were paid from borrowed money from China by our Government. 

Chinese workers are quite present all over the country including in supermarkets today. Where was the GMOA and its national interest then? Today the GMOA, which is concerned about a few Indian technicians coming in for a grant project, forgot the national interest when the Chinese were giving us high interest loans for unproductive projects and positioning themselves strongly in this country. They made sure that we were paying for China’s economic development through our taxpayers’ money and creating employment for their people in our land.

Private practice okay, but not private institutions and medical colleges!

It is time that the doctors themselves and the Government must realise that a few who are controlling the GMOA are on a different agenda. The citizens and the rest of the professional industries should take a stance on unions which are driving private and political agendas. We all know that the doctors sitting on this GMOA committee have got their free education through the poor taxpayers’ money and due to the continuous political will of our governments to fund them to a noble profession. 

In 1977 President J.R. Jayawardena gave them the opening for private practice and free vehicle permits. Today, if the Government tries to reform these areas as they have been abused by some, the GMOA will fight tooth and nail. It is okay for front-end operators of the GMOA to do private practice at private hospitals, but they are opposed to private medical colleges or for that matter anything private!

They will accept Bangladesh private medical degrees but will not openly support private medical colleges or develop a plan for the Government, as it is evident that they are even opposing semi-Government ambulances. They will fight for their car permits, but the workers who earn $ 8 billion for the country gets no car permit. Exporters who earn $11 billion foreign exchange and employ thousands also do not enjoy car permits! 

It is probably certain that these front-end doctors of GMOA may not be paying proper income tax amount as it is learnt from reliable sources that some of them collect cash, have two receipt books and also earn commission out of laboratory tests done in private labs tests.

It is time that the Government take a strong position on behalf of its poor citizens and taxpayers. Treat everybody equally, listen rationally and if one is doing a noble profession give them proper allowances. Nobody should be given a benefit of not paying tax to the country, including the politicians.

If our doctors genuinely feel that ETCA is unreasonable (of course for a document that no one has seen, except for a framework agreement) they should give their input through a professional white paper how the medical industry should work in a bilateral agreement with India, China or any other country. Publish the same for all of us to comment. 

They are educated enough to draft a national medical policy and hand it over to the Prime Minister. That is how proper engagement takes place with Government, not by running around and talking to media and destroying county’s interests to safeguard selfish political agendas.

A disturbed citizen