Nine years ago, armed police officers surrounded the offices of the Controller and Accountant General's Department (CAGD) to prevent a group of Ghanaian junior doctors from protesting the non-payment of their salaries for 11 months.

The junior doctors asserted that they were merely at the CAGD to submit the necessary documents for salary processing.

DSP Freeman Kumashie, Greater Accra Regional Director of Operations of the Ghana Police Service, labeled the gathering as unlawful and indicated that the police were poised to charge the group's leaders with unlawful assembly.

However, Dr. Nana Kissi Ataffuah, the group's spokesperson, criticized the police's actions, insisting that the gathering was not a protest.

"We are not demonstrating or acting violently. We are angry but not violent. We just want to present our documents to get paid. We are tired and hungry," he told local radio station Peace FM.

The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) declared its support for the junior doctors nationwide. GMA President Dr. Kwabena Adusei Poku questioned the government's expectations of unpaid doctors and highlighted that the doctors had completed all necessary requirements, including biometric registration, yet remained unpaid.

Dr. Adusei Poku lamented that the government only acted after the doctors went on strike.

Then-Finance Minister Seth Terkper, addressing the issue on local media, promised that the doctors would receive their 11 months' salary arrears within two weeks. He attributed the delay to the existing remuneration system but assured that steps were being taken to resolve the problem.

Mr Terkper explained that automating all public sector paper applications, such as those for leave, transfer, payment, and employment, was underway. He detailed that the current system required 30 months for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to enter the young doctors' personal data into the government's payroll system, due to the manual process involved.

"The process begins at the district level, moves to the regional level, and finally to the national level before it interfaces with the payroll, causing the delay," Terkper explained.

The doctors, however, were unconvinced by the explanation and assurance, deeming the proposed two-week period too long.

This issue has resurfaced after pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) activist @Gen_Buhari raised concerns about the National Democratic Congress (NDC) being a viable alternative to the current government.

The pro-NPP page asserts that the NDC flagbearer, John Mahama, cannot lead the country again.