Promise to pay allowances to Nursing and Teacher Trainees was 419

Former President of Ghana and flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahana has described the current government’s decision to pay nurses and teacher trainee allowances as 419.

He says even though the government has brought back the allowances, it is struggling to pay; something which could have been avoided

Mahama believes that government should have rather focused on access to nursing and teacher training education.

”We know the problems with trainee nurses and that is why when we were in government we said we were going to substitute your allowances with the students loan. That is because we wanted to create more employment for you. The important thing is not the allowance but it is to get the job when you finish school.

Somebody came and said he will pay the allowances not knowing it was 419,” the former president said.

The former president noted that government owes for over 30 months which it must pay since it promised the students.