President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has criticised the entrenched politicisation of allowances for trainee nurses and teachers, describing it as a short-sighted policy that continues to erode the sustainability of Ghana’s healthcare and education systems.

In the wake of the recent nationwide strike by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), Cudjoe asserted that successive governments have been more focused on political point-scoring than on meaningful structural reforms.

Speaking on Channel One TV on Saturday, June 14, he remarked, “How have we treated nurses even when they are training—we’ve pampered them. Haven’t we?” He pointed to the back-and-forth decisions on trainee allowances as emblematic of populist politics.

“Politically, one party says—John Mahama—that he is not going to pay any nurses’ allowance. The opposition at the time used it against him. And when they came, they started paying and rewarding these entities. I have never understood that game,” he noted.

Cudjoe argued that the practice of using training allowances as electoral bait has ultimately deprived the health and education sectors of critical investment in professional development and infrastructure.

“The moment we do these shifty politics and think we can garner votes through these freebies to a section of the population that do not require it, that do not need it, we should not be crying now that they have come back biting at us,” he warned.

He further chastised both the governing and opposition parties for perpetuating this cycle of politically-motivated giveaways, insisting that such resources should have been directed towards supporting qualified professionals “who actually go through the grind” and sustain service delivery in the country.

Cudjoe’s remarks come in the aftermath of the GRNMA’s suspension of a strike that began on 9 June 2025. The industrial action was triggered by the government’s decision to defer the implementation of revised conditions of service until 2026.

The strike severely affected operations in public hospitals, particularly in emergency units and maternity wards. After days of stalled negotiations between the GRNMA, the Ministry of Health, and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, mounting public concern eventually prompted renewed dialogue.

On 13 June, the strike was officially suspended following fresh assurances from the government that the timeline would be reviewed and that further negotiations would continue in good faith.