2021 Budget: Our welfare was not factored – GRNMA

Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association, Joseph Krampah says they are not satisfied with the 2021 budget presented to Parliament last Friday.

He noted Nurses and Midwives were not wholly factored in the plans of government, especially, when it came to their contribution as frontline workers in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

On his accord, salaries of health workers should have been increased because of their current role, but that was not captured in the budget presented to the house.

“We expected to get something out of the budget but we didn’t. The budget didn’t meet our expectation. They should’ve increased our salaries because of the frontline role we have been playing”, he told Samuel Eshun.

The GRNMA expected this to be done especially with their recent involvement in the mass COVID-19 vaccination exercise.

“The budget generally didn’t help us, especially when it comes to our welfare”, he mentioned in an interview on the Happy Morning Show aired on e.TV Ghana and Happy98.9FM.

Admitting the COVID-19 pandemic had affected the country’s economy, he also indicated it was routine for the government to increase the salaries of public sector workers in such periods.

“We acknowledge COVID-19 and its associated problems. We thank the President for his contributions to the fight against the virus and support to us. But something needs to be done about our welfare”, he insisted.

Talking about plans for the health sector at the 2021 budget presentation, caretaker Finance Minister, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu read;

“In pursuit of the Government’s health infrastructure drive, including agenda 111, the Ministry awarded contracts for the construction of 101 district hospitals, 7 regional hospitals and 3 Psychiatric hospitals. In 2021, the implementation of these projects will continue.

Mr. Speaker, to expand the health workforce, the Government recruited 58,191 personnel into the various agencies in the health sector. Out of this, 50,970 were permanent staff and the remaining 7,221 were temporary workers in 2020″.

The budget however did not touch on issues relating to pay rise and general welfare of Nurses and Midwives.