Trainee nurses picket at Black Star Square to demand payment of allowances

Over 500 trainee nurses of the Dunkwa Nursing and Midwifery Training College in Dunkwa-on-Offin in the Central Region Monday left the classroom for Accra to drum home their demand for the payment of their three years’ allowances.

Pitching camp at the Black Star Square in Accra, the students resolved that until their money was paid, they would not go back to school.

However, the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Health, Mr Tony Goodman, has appealed to them to return to school while the ministry looks into their case.

According to him, the government had paid all trainee nurses their allowances and, therefore, it was unfortunate that they had still not received theirs.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Mr Goodman said Mr Alex Segbefia, the Minister of Health, had given an assurance that he would follow up on the students’ demand.

Petition

The students, who could not meet officials of the MoH at the Independent Square due to their large numbers, handed over a petition to the ministry. 

It said: “Following the decision of the Presidency of the Republic of Ghana to pay all trainee nurses allowances, the Ministry of Health (MoH), by obligation, has to submit a list to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to issue financial clearance which mandates the Controller and Accountant-General to pay all trainees having gone through the biometric registration.

“Although not all but few health institutions have not gone through the biometric registration, of which we are part, we had our first clearance issued for only 47 trainees, out of about 860 who should be beneficiaries.

“This came as a shock to our institution, since some institutions which are more than our number have been cleared to receive the allowance and hence have started benefiting from the trainee allowances which the rest of us do not seem to comprehend. Since then, our administration and some concerned students have done follow-ups but all attempts have been a fiasco, as all the time we receive nothing but reassurance and we are weary of it.

“We are here this Monday, May 18, 2015 not to embark on a demonstration but humbly plead with the authorities in charge to tell us something because we have lost hope in the pursuance of this allowance as to whether we are considered among the health training institutions in Ghana because we also deserve to equally benefit as our colleagues have started enjoying the allowance.”

The students, who were transported to Accra in eight Metro Mass Transport (MMT) buses, led by Cosmos Fredua Marthias, in explaining their reaction, asked among other questions: “What should we do to get financial clearance?”