Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has revealed that more than 13,000 nurses and midwives recruited in 2024 were not placed on the government payroll because the Akufo-Addo administration failed to make budgetary provisions for their salaries.
Speaking on The Point of View on Channel One TV on Wednesday, October 15, Mr. Akandoh said the previous government issued recruitment clearances for about 13,500 nurses and midwives without allocating funds to pay them.
“The reality is that in 2024, government started recruiting nurses and midwives. They issued clearance for about 13,500 personnel, but there was no financial backing. Clearance is not just a piece of paper—you issue it only when you have made provision to pay those you recruit,” he explained.
According to the Minister, the clearance expired on December 31, 2024, but by that time, none of the newly recruited nurses had been added to the payroll.
“The clearance expired on December 31, 2024, and by then, not a single one of the 13,500 had been placed on payroll,” he said, adding that the recruits began work around August 2024 despite the absence of budgetary allocation.
Mr. Akandoh explained that the new administration faced two difficult options upon assuming office: either send the nurses home until funds were secured, or allow them to continue working while seeking financial clearance.
“When we came, there were only two options — either let them go home while we look for funding and extend the clearance, or let them continue working as we figure out how to pay them, since they were not captured in our budget,” he said.
He noted that since assuming office, the Health Ministry, in collaboration with the Finance Ministry, had managed to place about 7,000 of the recruits on payroll, with 10,000 captured in the system but only partially paid.
“We have worked to onboard them gradually. Some started receiving payments from around March,” he said.
The Minister further disclosed that the financial burden was greater than initially anticipated, as additional arrears and unfulfilled conditions of service were discovered.
“It turned out that the situation was worse than expected. Beyond the 13,500 recruited nurses, there were unpaid allowances and other commitments that had not been implemented, which made the budget balloon,” he noted.
Mr. Akandoh said his ministry has since sought Cabinet approval for additional funding to prevent budget overruns and ensure that all affected health workers are duly paid.
“We realised that if we didn’t go back to Cabinet for approval, the situation could destabilise our budget,” he concluded.
