Stop the Politics and Pay the Nurses — Minority Tells Health Minister
The Minority in Parliament has called out the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, over what it described as the politicization of nurses’ recruitment and salary payments, urging the government to “stop the blame game and pay the nurses immediately.”
At a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, the Ranking Member on the Health Committee, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie, accused the Minister and the government of creating an administrative mess and attempting to shift blame to the previous administration.
“The government has no excuse. They created this mess and must fix it. There is no need for new Cabinet approval — the financial clearance already exists. They should stop the politics and pay the nurses now,” Dr. Afriyie said.
Financial Clearance Already Granted
The Minority explained that a financial clearance letter, dated July 17, 2024, granted approval for the Ministry of Health to engage 15,200 nurses and midwives who had graduated from public and private institutions.
According to Dr. Afriyie, the clearance took effect immediately, and some agencies, including the Ministry of Health and the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG), successfully recruited and paid staff under the directive.
“Those recruited under the Ministry of Health received five months’ salary, from July to November, after proper validation. CHAG also used the same clearance to recruit and pay staff successfully,” he explained.
However, he said, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) delayed its recruitment processes until the end of December 2024, when the clearance expired.
Despite the expiration, the Minority insists the government should have sought an extension from the Ministry of Finance, as is standard practice.
“Financial clearances expire all the time — even under this government. The normal procedure is to request an extension. But this government failed to do so, for purely political reasons,” Dr. Afriyie noted.
Government’s Inaction Hurting Nurses
The Ranking Member criticized the government for allowing the situation to fester for ten months, saying the delay has left thousands of nurses and midwives unpaid despite working at their posts.
“The government saw the need for these nurses, allowed them to work, but refused to pay them. Now, after public demonstrations, they’re pretending to seek Cabinet approval. That’s not leadership, it’s politics with people’s livelihoods,” he said.
He added that the Minority had earlier exercised restraint and advised nurses to return to work in good faith while the government resolved the issue, emphasizing that their patience should not be mistaken for weakness.
“We’ve been reasonable enough. But you can’t continue taking the youth of this country for granted. Nurses and midwives matter. The government must stop playing politics and pay them now,” Dr. Afriyie declared.
A Call for Accountability
The Minority caucus maintained that funds for the recruitment and salaries had already been budgeted and allocated, and therefore, failure to pay the affected nurses is unjustifiable.
“This is not about politics; it’s about the lives of Ghanaians who depend on these health professionals. The government has the money and the clearance — they must act now,” Dr. Afriyie concluded.
The impasse over delayed salary payments for newly recruited nurses and midwives has reignited political tensions over the management of public sector employment.
The Minority’s intervention highlights growing frustration among health workers, many of whom have been at post for months without pay.
Some experts say resolving the issue promptly would not only ease the financial hardship facing the affected nurses but also restore confidence in the government’s commitment to fair and transparent human resource management in the health sector.
Source: Felix Nyaaba/expressnewsghana.com
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