Editor of Newscenta Newspaper, Elvis Darko, has accused the government of deliberately excluding nurses’ and midwives’ demands from the 2025 budget, despite being fully aware of their concerns well in advance.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Thursday, June 12, Darko questioned the government’s sincerity in handling the ongoing strike by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), triggered by the deferral of their new conditions of service.
“The government should stop commenting that their conditions of service are not in the budget. Why is it not in the budget? Because the ministers approved before the budget for the year was presented. Ato Forson presented the budget on the 11th of March, and the nurses started engaging you in January. It means you are aware of their needs, so if they are not in the budget, it means you deliberately did not put them in the budget,” he said.
Darko’s comments suggest that the omission was not an oversight, but a deliberate decision made despite early engagement from the health workers.
The government has maintained it cannot immediately meet the demands due to financial constraints. Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem warned that full implementation would add over GHS2 billion to the national budget—an amount he said could derail economic recovery efforts.
However, Darko insists that the explanation falls flat, especially given the timeline of engagements.
“So that comment of ‘they are not in the budget’ is not an excuse. The government communication should stop that comment of ‘they are not in the budget’, it will annoy the nurses more, because they drew your attention before the budget was presented,” he added.