The minority in Parliament has pushed back against claims by Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh that over 6,500 nurses were recruited without financial clearance under the Nana Addo administration.
Speaking to journalists in Parliament, Dr. Ayew Afriye, Ranking Member of the Health Committee, said the clearance for recruiting health professionals was granted in July of last year, contradicting the Minister’s statement.
He argued that the delays and current salary arrears are due to the failure of the current government to renew the clearance after it expired in December 2024.
Dr. Afriye questioned why the Ministry did not act sooner to extend the authorization, pointing out that funding for 15,000 positions had been allocated, and nearly 8,000 nurses had already been employed and posted by the Ghana Health Service.
“You didn’t see the need to tell the institutions to reject them. Neither did the institutions tell you to reject them. What it meant was that they filled the gap and needed to be at post, and the institutions used them. Embarrassingly enough, you’re saying that you have taken it to the cabinet for approval. What sort of cabinet approval do you need when you have clearance already?”he asked.
He further accused the government of attempting to obscure the challenges in managing health sector employment.
“He’s throwing dust into the eyes of the people. The government created a mess, and they have seen that ten months have caught up with them, and they are fixing it,” Dr. Afriye added.
This dispute comes as the Minister assured that the owed salaries for the aggrieved nurses would be cleared by next month.
