Students of the Bolgatanga Nursing Training College in the Bolgatanga municipality of the Upper East Region have called on the Akufo-Addo government to fulfil its promise by disbursing their allowances to them.
Some of the students who lamented what they describe as a deliberate delay of the allowances promised them by the government indicated that they have received only 5 months of their accumulated funds of over 30 months.
The concerned students accused the Vice President and flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, of falsely claiming that their overdue allowances have been cleared.
According to the students, his statements are far from the truth, insisting he misled Ghanaians by saying that all outstanding claims have been paid.
Background
In May this year, Dr. Bawumia stated emphatically at the launch of International Nurses Day that the government would release a total of 177 million cedis to cover overdue allowances.
He assured trainees that “come this Thursday, the Controller and Accountant General shall transfer funds to the Ministry of Finance for onward crediting of the trainee allowances accounts. So, hopefully, by next week the ‘Alawa’ will drop.”
However, five (5) months after the Vice President’s assurance, the students who spoke to XYZ reporter Akora Kofi Darko in Bolgatanga explained that they have not yet received any funds in their accounts.
hreatening to vote against the NPP if the funds are not released.
Speaking during a visit by NDC Running Mate, Professor Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang to Bolgatanga as part of her Upper East Region tour, the students expressed their frustration on the delayed allowances, threatening to vote against the NPP if the funds are not released.
One nursing student lamented, “I am in my third year, but since I started school, I have only received an allowance for five months. I am pleading with the government to pay us our allowance because we need money to pay fees.”
Another student added, “They paid us for five months, but not all of us received it. They keep promising us that they will pay, but I don’t believe them. I think because we are in an election year, they paid the five months just to deceive us.”
Many students rely on these allowances to cover tuition and other essential expenses, leaving them feeling abandoned and disillusioned.
The SRC president of Bolgatanga Nursing and Training College, Ayeebono Bright, did not hold back on the issue.
“For me, I won’t say the government has paid because the months owed do not add up. Out of my three years in school, I have received an allowance for only five months,” he stated.
NDC’s Assurance
Professor Opoku-Agyemang urged them not to be deceived by promises of freebies from the NPP since it was clear that they would not fulfill those promises.
She assured them of a better governance by the NDC and its flag bearer, John Mahama, who has better policies for the nurses when they complete their programmes.
She mentioned that the next NDC government will promptly post them and get them sustainable jobs by expanding health infrastructure across the country.
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