President John Dramani Mahama has announced a new policy initiative that will see nursing and teacher trainee allowances paid directly by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD), in a bid to permanently resolve persistent delays in disbursement.
Speaking during his thank-you tour in the Northern Region, he explained that under the new arrangement, trainee allowances would be classified under the “compensation items” in the national budget.
This move, he said, would align trainee payments with the regular monthly salary structure of public sector workers.
“There’s good news for nursing and teacher trainees. Their allowances are to be paid directly by the Controller and Accountant General. This has been made a part of the compensation item in the budget. This will permanently eliminate the delay in trainees receiving their allowances. It means that any time public sector workers receive their monthly salaries, teacher and nursing trainees will also receive their allowances.”
The policy shift is intended to streamline the allowance payment process by eliminating bureaucratic bottlenecks that have plagued the system in recent years.
As part of a broader social intervention and youth empowerment agenda, President Mahama also announced that the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment has launched technical committees to supervise the rollout of two flagship initiatives the ‘Adwuma Wura’ Program and the National Apprenticeship Program.
Both were key components of the opposition National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) 2024 manifesto aimed at tackling youth unemployment, and the proposed allowance payment reform has been widely welcomed by trainees and stakeholders seeking a more efficient and transparent system.
President Mahama’s announcement comes as he continues his post-election outreach across the country, reinforcing his policy priorities and rallying support ahead of the next political cycle.
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