The Minority Caucus in Parliament has expressed their worry at the current trend of attempts by government to use the Ghana Police Service to institute the culture of silence by brutalising people who are exercising their democratic rights.
This the Minority believes is highly unacceptable and alarming.
This development is against the background that, just in a couple of days ago, Graduate Unemployed Nurses and Midwives Association (GUNMA) went picketing at the Ministry of Health where some of members were beaten manhandled by the Ghana Police.
Meanwhile, the Minority Caucus commended the Graduate Unemployed Nurses and Midwives Association (GUNMA) leadership for their patience and deliberate adherent to due process of engagement and negotiation which unfortunately failed to address their genuine concerns.
This however led them to finally resort to picketing at the ministry of Health premises.
Speaking at a press briefing at parliament, Hon. Kwabena Akandoh the Ranking Member for the Select Committee on Health indicated that, President Nana Akuffo Addo and his Vice President Dr. Mahmudu Bawumia at separate meetings with the nurses, urged them (GUNMA) to forfeit their Nursing Training allowances in lieu of immediate employment.
He therefore noted that, government have failed to provide the promised immediate employment for which they nurses forfeited their promised training allowances.
“We therfore, find it unfortunate that since meeting with the President, Nana Akuffo Addo and his Vice President and many other meetings held with other Government officials, these unemployed nurses are still struggling to grab jobs for themselves” Hon. Akandoh lamented.
He on behalf of the Minority Caucus expressed their sympathy to the GUNMA, especially the leadership who went through this ordeal.
Stressing that, Ghana Police should stop intimidating and harassing these unemployed nurses.
“Referencing can be made to the brutalities meted out to the demonstrating law students and how the leadership of GUNMA were harassed for asking for jobs they deserve”.
Giving the breakdown of the various categories of unemployed nurses the Minority Caucus received from the leadership of GUNMA indicated that, these unemployed nurses after all attempts to persuade Government to fulfill its promises have failed, hence had no option than picketing at the Ministry of Health.
The breakdown are as follows:
Diplona- 2017 August =9800
Diploma-2018 February= 1500
Certificate-2017=16000
Certificate-2018=14000
“The health sector is a very sensitive one and so policies and programs in the sector should be a holistic one; to be able to employ more nurses and midwives”, he acknowledged.
Therefore, to provide better health care delivery means expanding the infrastructure in the health sector, hence the investment of over 1Billion USD in the health sector by the previous Mahama administration.
It is therefore bewildering that, the NPP consistently claims to have recruited over 50, 000 nurses which have been exposed by the supposed beneficiaries of this recruitments.
Sugri Abdul-Rafif, President of the (GUNMA) appealed to President Nana Akuffo Addo to offer them jobs to help boost their livelihood.
Story By: Delali Gavor
