Staff of two major health facilities in the Western regional capital Sekondi/Takoradi have been enrolled and issued with e-zwich cards. They are the Takoradi hospital formerly known as European hospital and the Kwesimintsim hospital. The exercise took place last week.
The enrolment forms part of an initiative to begin paying auxiliary staff of the hospitals directly onto their e-zwich cards. This would be done through the Payment Distribution System (PDS software). The Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement System (GhIPSS) is working closely with public hospitals to issue their staff with the e-zwich cards so they can begin receiving their allowances and other emoluments besides their main salaries on the biometric card. The enrolment has already taken place at the premier teaching hospital Korle-Bu and the team has now moved to the Western regional capital.
Speaking in an interview, the General Manager in charge of Project and Business Development, Archie Hesse, said though the registration is largely meant for staff of the hospital, the exercise is opened to patients and anybody who passes through the hospital during the enrolment exercise. He explained that a part from the use of the e-zwich to pay allowances to staff of the hospitals as well as pay auxiliary workers, the hospitals will begin to accept e-zwich cards as a form of payment alongside cash.
As a result of this initiative, e-zwich Point of Sales (POS) devices will be deployed at the hospitals after the enrolment exercise. Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital which did its enrolment earlier has been trained in the use of the POSes as well the operation of the PDS.
Mr. Hesse said the PDS at the hospitals will for now be restricted to auxiliary staff and payment of allowances. The regular staff will join other public sector workers on a different initiative. That would be when the Comptroller and Accountant General begin to pay public sector workers’ salary on the e-zwich card.
The introduction of e-zwich in the payment system of hospitals will create a lot of convenience as well as introduce transparency, since the transactions will be done electronically and would involve fingerprints which are unique to each person.
Mr. Hesse said other public hospitals have been lined and shortly the team would visit those other health facilities for enrolment and deployment of e-zwich cards and POSes.
Source: B&FT
