I cancelled nursing, teacher-trainee allowances to invest in infrastructure – Mahama

Flagbearer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has disclosed that the reason behind his decision to cancel nursing training allowances was to use the money to build more health infrastructure.

John Mahama was criticized by the then-opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) for cancelling allowances of teachers and Nursing Trainees promising to reinstate the allowances when given power.

But speaking to students of Sefwi Wiaso Nurses Training College, John Dramani Mahama explained the reason behind the decision to replace the allowances with loans.

He said his government realized it had to take a number of years for nurses who graduate to be posted to their various stations.

However, if more infrastructure was built, there would be more spaces to be occupied by nurses and more jobs created.

“When we tried to explain the reason why we were replacing your allowances with student loans, people did not understand us. What we wanted to do was build more CHPS compounds, more hospitals, and more health facilities, more health centres so that when you come out you can get work to do that was our intention. But some people took political advantage of it and said they would continue to pay the allowances because they could," he said.

"Today I’m told that those in their 2nd year have never seen their allowances. My younger sisters and younger brothers, I’m standing on your behalf here to remind Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr Mahamudu Bawumia that the students of Sefwi Wiaso Nursing Training College say that they are waiting for their allowances because you promised you could pay,” he said while addressing the students," he added.