While admitting that the over 20,000 nurses and midwives clamouring for jobs and currently agitated over the recruitment by the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) have legitimate concerns, they [the 20,000 nurses and midwives] are being asked to exercise a little restraint, pray and hope that the government, which is currently cash-strapped, comes into resources to facilitate the permanent engagement.
Johnson Ayine, a member of the NPP’s Upper East Regional Communication Team said this when he spoke on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show yesterday, Wednesday, August 24, 2022.
He said, “let us have patience. Let us not rush to think that the government is looking for cheap labour. They [the 20,000 nurses and midwives] have every right to demand that the government recruits nurses because we are spending resources to train them. They are Ghanaians and they need to earn a living. I do not have a problem with their demands.”
“Last year October, about 11,226 nurses were given financial clearance for recruitment. This year, all of us know the experience that we are going through. We have seen how in 2022, things have been thrown overboard. So with the difficulty that we are going through, let us pray and fight with the hope that getting to the end of the year, some of the things would change and when they change, We bring in more hands [nurses].”
He explained that the payments for the nurse assistants to be engaged under the YEA module would not be paid from the consolidated fund. Mr. Ayine stressed that those engaged under YEA are paid from the Communication Service Tax (CST) and other auxiliary sources.
Responding to a question about why the government couldn’t consider NABCo trainees under the Heal Ghana module to take up such roles, Mr. Ayine explained that due to the minuscule amount of money the YEA nurse would be paid, it would be insignificant to the fully trained nurses.
Earlier, Jonathan Abdallah Salifu, the Deputy Upper East Regional Director of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) allayed the fears of many regarding the engagement of some 5,000 Senior High School graduates to assist nurses at the various CHPS compounds in the country.
A section of the public, including the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) was disappointed with the decision by the government.
The Deputy Upper East Regional Director of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) explained that the lives of patients are not in danger and that there was nothing for the public to be worried about.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
