The Ghana Nurse Midwife Trainees’ Association (GNMTA) has rejected government’s reinstatement of trainee allowances.
The allowance was scrapped in 2013 by government in order to remove the restrictions on admission to the various training institutions, but the decision was vehemently resisted by the students.
Following that, a technical committee was set up by President John Dramani Mahama to review the issue regarding the allowances and make some recommendations to government.
After the committee’s work, the Ministry of Health announced that upon review, government had decided to pay an amount of GHS150 a month to students pursuing various levels of professional health training across the country.
However, speaking to Class News, the Greater Accra president of the association, Biney Ibrahim, said the stated amount was not enough, adding that they would embark on a nationwide demonstration to drum home their concerns.
“We do not agree to accept that GHS150 and we will still go on to organise our demonstration starting from the Ashanti Region and Brong Ahafo. [On] Friday the 29th of this month, we are starting the demonstration. Until government comes out clearly for us to see that he is serious about attending to our problems, we are not stopping,” he stated.
“The type of allowance we are looking for is not what the government is trying to give us. What they are trying to give us is just a token to quench our thirst. We are supposed to receive GHS529 every month. First, they didn’t want to give us so they said verbally that they have scrapped the allowance. Why do they have to now come back and say that they are now giving us GHS150? Once you try and let them know that you know your left from your right, then they try to do something small to quench your thirst and I believe that is what the government is trying to do.”
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
