Development Economist and Research Fellow at the University of Ghana’s Centre for Social Policy Studies, Dr George Domfeh, has criticised the government over what he describes as the failure to deliver on a campaign promise to restore automatic employment posting for nursing training graduates.
Dr Domfeh expressed his concerns in a post on Facebook, recalling a campaign period during which a student nurse passionately demanded immediate posting for nursing graduates.
“We want immediate posting! that is what we want! John Mahama! John Mahama!”
According to Dr Domfeh, the student’s demand reflected the expectations created by the promise of automatic posting for graduates of nursing and other health-related training institutions.
However, he said he had remained sceptical about the feasibility of the promise, arguing that developments under the current administration had reinforced his reservations.
“I, however, never bought into the promise—and President Mahama has, rather spectacularly, vindicated my scepticism,” Dr Domfeh wrote.
He added: “Sometimes, political promises have a funny way of becoming the evidence for the argument you were making all along. ƐYƐ ASƐM OOO.”
The issue of automatic employment for nursing and other health training graduates featured prominently in the campaign messaging of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its then flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama.
The party pledged to restore a system under which qualified health professionals would be posted into public-sector facilities after completing their training, reducing the period graduates spend waiting for employment.
During his campaign engagements, then-candidate Mahama said health-sector graduates should not be left without jobs after completing their education, particularly at a time when Ghana continues to face healthcare staffing challenges.
The policy was presented as a way of addressing delays and uncertainty associated with the recruitment and posting of newly trained nurses and other health professionals.
Under the proposed arrangement, graduates would not have to go through prolonged and uncertain recruitment processes before securing placement in the public health system.
President John Dramani Mahama is quoted as saying:
“We’ll restore automatic posting so that when you graduate, you’ll be employed as quickly as possible.”
The promise generated considerable interest among nursing students and other health trainees, many of whom have traditionally faced uncertainty after completing their programmes.
The NDC’s broader healthcare agenda also included commitments to complete ongoing and abandoned hospital projects across the country.
The expansion of healthcare infrastructure was linked to efforts to increase access to healthcare services while creating additional capacity for the deployment of health professionals.
The expectation was that completing such projects would provide additional facilities where newly trained nurses, doctors and other health workers could be posted.
For nursing graduates in particular, automatic posting has been viewed as a significant policy issue because completing professional training does not necessarily translate into immediate employment within the public health sector.
Dr Domfeh’s comments have added to the broader public debate over the implementation of campaign promises by political parties after assuming office.
His criticism focuses specifically on the gap between the expectations created by the promise of automatic posting and the realities confronting health-sector graduates.
The economist’s remarks also raise questions about the sustainability of automatic employment, particularly regarding government’s ability to finance salaries, absorb increasing numbers of graduates and ensure that additional recruitment is matched by available positions and healthcare infrastructure.
For students and graduates who supported the policy on the expectation of immediate employment, the implementation of the promise remains a matter of considerable interest.
By 1960news.com
