The Assistant National Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), has clarified the ongoing concerns surrounding health sector recruitment.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Monday, February 24, he stated, “If you don’t have financial clearance, it means you have not been budgeted for, and the government doesn’t have a provision for your salary.”
He explained that the recruitment process has evolved significantly from the past, where newly employed health workers could wait up to a year before being added to the payroll.
“That is what has changed from the previous recruitment process, where you go to work, and it takes a bit of time, like six months, one year, before they are put on a payroll.
“The 15,200 which we are aware of have financial clearance. I don’t know of any outside recruitment. There is no recruitment outside of that that we are aware of,” he said.
When asked about the possibility of a strike, Mr Gyapong clarified that the Association’s earlier comments were meant as guidance, not a threat.
“I think we cautioned the government on its directive—we were giving them advice, let me put it that way,” he said.
He expressed concern over the fate of nurses and midwives who have waited for years after training but risk being laid off if bureaucratic processes aren’t completed promptly.
“If nurses and midwives, who are also the youth of this country, who have stayed on for four to five years post-training, are laid off based on the fact that maybe their financial clearance process didn’t complete before a certain period, it will be very unfair to do that,” he emphasised.
“The ministry has made us aware that they are going to stick to the directives based on the emphasis they laid—those who went through due process and were given financial clearance are not supposed to go home,” he stated.