Gov’t says allowance can’t be restored without a fanfare

The Akufo-Addo-led government believe just restoring the allowance of nurses’ trainees without launching it is not enough.

This follows the public criticism by many who are against holding a launching ceremony with the taxpayers money whilst the government keeps complaining of little or no money in the public purse.

The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, defended the launch. He questioned why many would expect the government to restore the allowance quietly.

“We are launching [the restoration of the allowance] to demonstrate to Ghanaians that the government has honoured its promise. We don’t want to hide in a room somewhere, pay the allowance and that is the end of it. Ghanaians should know what we are doing.”

He stressed that it was important “to communicate the good works of our President and that is why are we are launching. People are happy; they want to jubilate about it and we want them to jubilate about it.”

Agyemang-Manu was speaking to the Media after appearing before Parliament.

The launch of the restoration of the nurses’ trainee allowance, would take place in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region on October 10, 2017.

This will see about 58,000 trainee nurses and midwives receive their monthly allowance after they were scrapped in 2016 by the John Mahama government.

According to the then Mahama-led administration, the allowance was initially scrapped in order to ensure the various training colleges admitted more students. Many condemned this decision.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) earmarked a students’ loan scheme in place of the allowance.

But the Mahama government later agreed to pay a reduced allowance for the trainees temporarily, until they are finally moved onto the students’ loan scheme.