Member of Parliament for Akim Oda, Alexander Akwasi Acquah, has revealed that the government is facing difficulties in meeting the demands of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), raising concerns as the union’s July deadline approaches.

Speaking in an interview on Channel One Newsroom on Tuesday, July 1, the MP, who also serves on Parliament’s Health Committee, disclosed that he had requested the Health Minister be summoned to Parliament to address the matter. However, the Minister only spoke to issues relating to COVID-19 and Mpox.

According to him, the Ministry of Finance is currently grappling with the financial implications of the nurses’ demands.

“The nurses’ issue was one of the things that I personally asked that the minister be summoned to Parliament this week, but unfortunately, he did not address it. The Majority Leader hinted to us that the president needed to have a meeting with the Health Minister and the Finance Minister,” he said.

“What I am told is that the Finance Ministry is having some difficulty in coming to terms with their demands. Even though the Health Committee stood in for them and assured the nurses that they should give us a period, the nurses had given up to a deadline of July, and I am hoping that between now and that period, we should be able to get some substance from the government.”

Akwasi Acquah further cautioned that should the government fail to make progress by the deadline, the Minority on the Health Committee will withdraw from further engagement.

“Otherwise, we, the minority on the committee, have said that we are not going to be part of it because we have sacrificed our credibility and we led the various negotiations to get the nurses to return to work,” he added.

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