Credit: Prince Adu-owusu
The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Health Committee, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie, has cautioned that the Minority will not treat the government leniently over its handling of the ongoing strike by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA).
He described the strike as a national crisis requiring urgent attention, emphasizing that while the Minority will avoid politicizing the issue, they will not absolve the government of its responsibilities.
Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Tuesday, June 10, Dr. Afriyie asserted that the government must be held accountable for failing to honour the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) signed with the nurses and midwives.
“We are not ready to play politics with this. I’ve said it clearly and I stand by it. But we also won’t treat the government with kid gloves. They were elected to solve problems, and they must do exactly that,” he stated.
Dr. Afriyie criticized what he described as an uncooperative stance from the government since January, noting that delays by the Ministry of Finance in approving necessary payments have exacerbated the situation.
“The real issue is at the point of approval and disbursement—from Finance to Controller—and that’s where the bottleneck lies,” he explained.
He urged the government to engage with the striking nurses transparently, outlining which demands can be addressed in the upcoming mid-year budget review and which may need to be deferred to the next fiscal year.
Dr. Afriyie also appealed to the nurses to exercise restraint and compassion if the government demonstrates genuine goodwill.
“We believe nurses must show mercy. If the government sits with them in good faith and pleads sincerely, we trust they will respond with understanding. After all, the essence of their profession is healing—not watching lives lost,” he added.
Watch the video below:
Credit: Prince Adu-owusu
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur.
