Minister for Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, has said that the Ministry of Health cannot employ more nurses without clearance from the Ministry of Finance.
Speaking at a press briefing earlier today, the minister acknowledged the Ministry’s awareness of many nurses presently unemployed despite their readiness for the field.
“We begin to forget that when you finish university and pass your exams, you also have the obligation to be employed, somebody has to find you a job, just like the nurses, but they are very lucky,” The minister explained, noting that nurses do not have to worry about searching for jobs after completion.
However, he disclosed that not all nurses can be employed by government, which explains the migration of nurses to other countries for means of survival. “We are training large numbers on a regular basis and the holistic hundred percent recruitment does not seem to be sustainable; if you look at our budget, and you look at the pay roll component of our budget, we can’t continue employing 30,000 new every year.”
He noted that the budgetary constraints of the government do not allow the Ministry of Finance to give clearance for the employment of more nurses; all efforts of the Ministry of Health to document a new set of employees would therefore be futile.
The minister hinted that the first phase of accreditation for 2022’s batch is underway and currently awaiting clearance for the next phase.