The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has asked the government to pay the 30 months of allowances owed to trainee nurses in the country.

Speaking during a recent campaign trail, he criticised the NPP government for focusing on allowances instead of addressing the unemployment of nurses in the country.

He emphasised that under the next NDC government, all efforts would be made to ensure all nursing students get jobs upon completing school.

"All of us are waiting for December 7. We know the problems with trainee nurses, and that is why when we were in government, we said we were going to substitute your allowances with student loans. That is because we wanted to create more job opportunities for you.

"What is important is to get a job when you finish school, but somebody came and said he would pay the allowances. Unfortunately, it was 419. When he went to Techiman, it took a young trainee nurse like you to say, 'You promised to pay us our allowances. I entered Nurses Training School three years ago. I am in my third year, but up till now, we still have not received our allowances.' They pretended that they didn't hear. Come and pay the nurses; you owe them almost 30 months of allowances.

It is about jobs, and the NDC will create a situation where everybody gets a job after finishing school."

John Dramani Mahama again criticised the government for waiting until three months before the general elections to recruit nurses.

"They don't employ for years, but when it is getting close to elections, they say they have got financial clearance for recruitment. Which batches are you going to employ? We must create the condition where, when you come out of training, we send you into employment. I will make you a commitment: when I come, the hospital projects abandoned by this government, we will finish them. The Agenda 111 hospitals they are building, we will finish them. This is to create more space to be able to absorb you when you finish school. This election is between Ghana and the NPP," he noted.

JKB/OGB

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