Hundreds of dedicated nurses and midwives gathered a few days go at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health in Accra, their voices heavy with frustration and desperation.
According to them, they have worked for over nine months without pay. Some of these workers come from families that sold properties, took loans, or sacrificed their last resources to put them through school. They graduated, got posted, and now, instead of bringing relief to their households, they are left struggling to survive.
Every day, these health workers wake up to serve a system that has abandoned them. The emotional weight on these health workers is unbearable. Families who once celebrated their graduation now whisper in worry, asking when things will change.
Younger siblings wait for school fees that never come, while parents who sacrificed everything face the shame of debt collectors. And yet, these nurses and midwives still show up at hospitals and clinics across the country, expected to smile, comfort patients, and make critical decisions that could mean the difference between life and death. But how can a health worker be expected to think clearly when hunger gnaws at her stomach and the pressure of unpaid rent clouds her mind? With a minute of distraction, a single miscalculation, a wrong prescription, lives could be lost. Newly posted Nurses and teachers alike are caught in this cycle, forced to work tirelessly without the basic reward of their labor.
The official explanation for these delays has been that there is no clearance for them to receive their pay. But how fair is it for those who have already given their time, energy, and skills to be denied what is due them? While they endure this hardship, Auditor-General reports continue to reveal thousands of ghost names on the government payroll. Non-existent workers are paid monthly without fail, while the living, those who keep hospitals and classrooms running are neglected.
Imagine a situation where a patient is rushed into a hospital in critical condition, gasping for life. The nurse attending to them has not been paid for nine months. She is exhausted, hungry, and distracted by the fear of eviction or the pressure of debts waiting at home. In such a fragile moment, one small mistake could cost a life. This is not a distant possibility, it is the daily reality of a system that starves its newly posted workers of dignity.
The Ghana Health Service, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Finance must urgently resolve this injustice. This is not just about salaries, it is about survival, justice, and the protection of lives. The processes that delay clearance and payments must be reviewed so that no nurse, teacher, or midwife has to posted to endure months without pay. To neglect the living while paying the dead is a betrayal of the nation’s future, and it must end now.
Written by Samuel Nii Adjetey
(A journalist and a Fact-checker)
Source: ameyawdebrah.com/
