The Minority in Parliament is demanding the immediate payment of over 6,000 nurses and midwives who have been working without salary for the past 10 months.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, October 14, the Ranking Member on the Health Committee of Parliament, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriye, strongly refuted government’s attempts to attribute the plight of the affected healthcare professionals to the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.
Dr. Afriye dismissed the government’s justification, that the financial clearance issued by the erstwhile NPP government had expired, necessitating the current administration to seek new cabinet approval for payment as unfounded.
”It appears that by being reasonable over the period, they (the government) are taking them (the healthcare workers) for granted,” the Ranking Member stated. “That is why we are coming in to inform the public that there is no need for cabinet to approve anything. There is no need for this clearance.”
He further challenged the government to clarify its position. “The government should come and tell them that there was no clearance, that it expired, and they should tell us if indeed, in public administration, there has not been a clearance which has expired and had been extended. It’s not news in this country or any other country.”
The Minority bloc characterized the government’s failure to pay the workers as “purely a political decision” that it has attempted to shift blame for onto the former administration.
This address by the Minority comes in the wake of a recent press conference by the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, who announced that cabinet approval for the payment of the affected nurses would take effect in November.
The government however maintains that the situation was caused by the expiration of the financial clearance, which was issued before the current administration took office.
Story By: Eugenia Ewoenam Osei
