Nursing students at the Bolgatanga Nursing and Training College have 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.
Earlier this year, in mid-May, Dr. Bawumia stated emphatically at the launch of International Nurses Day that the government would release a total of 177 million Ghanaian 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 months after the Vice President’s assurance, students from the Bolgatanga Nursing and Training College told XYZ reporter Akora Kofi Darko that they have not yet received any funds in their accounts.
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.
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.
Healthcare professionals are now demanding immediate payment of all their overdue allowances, warning that they will vote massively against the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government if their demands are not met.
Source: Myxyzonline.com
