Allowance restored: Akufo-Addo is 'fulfiller of campaign promises' - Razak Opoku

The Founder and President of Concerned Voters Movement (CVM), Mr. Razak Kojo Opoku, has described President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as "Fulfiller of Campaign Promises" and "Restorer of Excellent Governance" for the restoration of nursing and midwifery trainees allowance.

President Nana Addo performed a colorful ceremony interspersed with cultural display in Sunyani Tuesday, October 10, 2017, as he launched the allowance restoration.

About 58,000 nursing and midwifery trainees across the country are to benefit from the allowance where they would be paid Gh400 cedis every month.

Speaking at the launch, President Akufo-Addo said the allowance is to help parents and students from the financial stress they go through.

In 2014, the government of former president John Mahama cancelled the payment of all allowances, including nursing trainees'.

The scraping of the allowances was met with grave disapproval, assuming a key weapon of the Akufo-Addo 2016 campaign.

Speaking to the media after the launch, Mr. Razak Kojo Opoku said President Akufo-Addo had vindicated the over 5million voters who voted overwhelmingly for him in the 2016 general elections.

"I am proud to be an advocate for the President Akufo-Addo. Within nine months of his administration, President Akufo-Addo has committed himself fully to the implementation of his cutting-edge campaign promises, an honest trait was lacking in the previous administration", he exited.

He also added that, the restoration of the allowance, Ghanaians must reward President Nana Addo led government with massive votes in 2020 to continue with their better programs.

"With the restoration of the Nursing Trainees Allowance today, the Healthcare Delivery in Ghana has been given a facelift and we do hope that the Nursing Community will reward the NPP government with their votes in the 2020 general elections".

He also admitted that though President Akufo-Addo is doing well but some of his appointees are not performing well and deserve reshuffle.

"President Akufo-Addo has performed creditably well within his first term in office despite some inefficiencies from some of the appointees of Government. I am confidently and fully aware that those appointees will definitely be shown the exit in the first reshuffle early next year"

"Now the new titles conferred on President Akufo-Addo by reasonable Ghanaians are;

1.Nana Addo, the Fulfiller of Campaign Promises

2. Akufo-Addo, the Restorer of Excellent Governance", he added.

BACKGROUND OF ALLOWANCE

Timeline of the politics of trainee allowance payments Trainee allowances was introduced in the 60's by President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of the Convention People’s Party.

It was canceled in the 70's by the Progress Party government led by Dr. Abrefa Busia. The NPP is an off-shoot of the Progress Party. The PNDC government under Flt Lt Rawlings re-introduced in the 80's to check an exodus of trained teachers to Nigeria.

A quota system was put in place to set the number of students that a College of Education can admit based on how many students the government could afford to pay.

The quota system is believed to have led to a decline in admissions to Colleges of Education.

Some 20 years of the quota system, the Colleges are said to be operating below 45 percent of their capacity.

In 2014, the NDC government canceled the allowance.

In September 2017 the NPP government has restored it.