Decision to Recruit High School Leavers as Nurses is Borne by Political Considerations

The government through the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) has announced it will recruit 5000 senior high school Leavers to help in health delivery at our CHPS Compounds. This announcement did not go down well with well meaning Ghanaians including the GRNMA as there are several batches of qualified nurses still at home unemployed.

The NPP in opposition castigated the Mahama administration for cancelling nursing and teacher training allowances and promised to restore same when they win the 2016 elections. This promise was well received by the majority of Ghanaians who voted the NPP into power in 2017. The allowances were partially restored to the jubilation of nursing students. They believe that Nana Addo is a true messiah and that after school, recruitment will be easy for them.

The maiden beneficiaries of the partial restoration of the nursing trainee allowances were the 2018 and 2019 batches. The 2018 batch was recruited in the last quarter of 2020. The 2019 batch are still wailing at home begging the government to give them an ear and save them from the shame unemployment is visiting on them. In fact, they were made to access the recruitment portal in late 2021 yet their posting date is not coming.

It is not only the 2019 batch that is going through this avoidable predicament. We also have the 2020, and 2021 batches. The 2022 batch will also join in two months time making a total of 4 batches.

Before Mahama left office in January, 2017, clearance was granted by the Finance Ministry to recruit the 2015 batch. Essentially, President Mahama was only handing over the 2016 batch as a backlog to the NPP administration. Do not forget President Mahama was abused for not employing trained nurses and that they (NPP) will correct this anomaly. It is therefore choking that the NPP is planning to recruit SHS graduates to perform the duties of nurses when it has a backlog of 3 batches to employ. This can only come from a party that has failed its promise to the people and is desperate to win 2024 elections dubbed 'Break the 8.'

All decisions of the NPP government have always focused on succeeding in the next elections. Policies implemented do not have the character of sustainability to impact positively on the current situation of the ordinary Ghanaian. Such policies make the ordinary Ghanaian transition from poverty to poverty while they achieve their political objective of winning power.

For instance, the NABCO beneficiaries have been damped. The Planting for Food and Jobs was a cash cow for NPP men through smuggling. One Village One Dam failed woefully but party boys benefited immensely through procurement. Free water and electricity have been replaced with heavy taxes. The list is endless. All these were done to go through 2020 elections and now they are exploring avenues to deceive the Ghanaian people to remain in power after 2024.

NPP know very well that they have failed the nursing trainees and therefore they cannot rely on them to win 2024. The strategy is now to neglect them and go for SHS graduates. They will now

pollute the SHS graduates that the NDC will render them jobless if they vote for the NDC. They will also promise to recruit more. This is the trick they used on the nursing trainees, NABCO beneficiaries and the numerous Ghanaians who were to benefit from their scam flagship programs and now that they know the marriage is over, they will go in for the SHS graduates.

The decision to recruit the SHS graduates is not only political but also financial. This government has become legendary corrupt. Appointees who are notoriously corrupt receive a lot of praise and applouse from the president before and/or after investigations if any. The Sputnik V, AGYAPA, and PDS scandals are few examples.

The YEA top hierarchy with support from Ghana Health Service (GHS) may employ just a handful, say one thousand SHS graduates and report to Ghanaians that they have employed five thousand. Salaries for the excess number will go to ghost names which the top officers will be the ultimate beneficiaries.

The NPP government does not have any good intention for the SHS graduates. What they are doing is to earn votes in 2024 and also benefit through the creation of ghost workers.

Ghanaians must get the courage to resist any attempt to recruit SHS graduates and destroy their lives as they are currently doing to the NABCO beneficiaries. If they are truly minded about recruiting people into the health services, then they must prioritize the recruitment of all nursing trainees.

By Taluta Gbanha Mahama Sissala West, Gwollu - Nyimati mymahamataluta@gmail.com 0249694343

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