The National Youth Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sammi Awuku, has on behalf of Ghanaian youth, commended President Akufo-Addo for “justifying the confidence reposed in him by Ghanaians,” following the restoration of the trainee nurses allowance.
58,000 health trainees, comprising nurses and midwives, will be paid their allowance of GH¢400 per person, for each of the 10 months of the academic year.
The government has thus committed GHC232 million for the payment of the allowances for the 2017/2018 academic year. This was announced by President Akufo-Addo at a grand event to celebrate the restoration of the allowance in the Brong Ahafo region.
[contextly_sidebar id=”2Kl3xshe0o5ovLpOaCeNjeaTe64i9bj7″]Ahead of the 2016 general election, the NPP promised to reintroduce the scrapped allowance.
On Tuesday, a ceremony was held in Sunyani to officially launch the reintroduction of the allowance, even though payment had begun since September.
In a Facebook post, Mr. Awuku, who doubles as the Board Chairman of the Youth Employment Agency, YEA, said, “With a fulfilled heart, I write once again as one of our major campaign promises; the restoration of the nurses-trainee allowance has been implemented. I thank the president of the Republic, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo… We greatly commend him for a good work done as he continues to do more.”
“We the youth of Ghana will continue to give him our unflinching support in moving the country forward, as he is a shining example of a political leader who promises and delivers.”
In 2014, the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) scrapped the payment of allowances to trainee nurses on the basis that it disallowed sufficient funds needed to improve infrastructure to accommodate more trainees into the nursing schools.
The restoration of the allowance follows the implementation of the NPP government’s flagship programme, Free SHS – to cater for the tuition, accommodation, and feeding of students in state-owned second cycle institutions across the country.
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By: Marie-Franz Fordjoe/citifmonline.com/Ghana