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Galamsey: Presidency’s meeting with Organised Labour needless, bogus – Gyampo
Professor Ransford Gyampo, President of the University of Ghana’s chapter of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), has dismissed the Presidency’s invitation to the leadership of Organised Labour to discuss its planned strike against illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey, as needless and bogus.
Organised Labour announced its decision to embark on an indefinite strike on Tuesday, October 1, in response to the government’s failure to meet their demands, which include a ban on all forms of mining and the declaration of a state of emergency to tackle galamsey.
Speaking on Citi FM’s Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday, October 3, Prof. Gyampo accused the government of acting in bad faith and lacking courtesy in its handling of issues with Organised Labour.
He expressed frustration with the government’s approach, calling it “predictable, needless, and bogus.”
“Anytime Labour goes into an agreement with them [the government] and for some reason, they can’t meet the terms, they don’t even have the courtesy to tell us that they cannot meet our demands
He said, “We knew this is what they will be doing. It is so unproductive that they know what to do and they will not do it but go and call you somewhere to discuss issues. They always want to talk to leaders and not problems and that is needless and bogus.”
Prof Gyampo also justified the decision of Organised Labour to give a week’s notice before its October 10 indefinite strike, saying it is a window created to allow all the other unions that make up Organised Labour to adequately prepare and follow due process.
According to him,“People who do not know how Organised Labour operates say why didn’t we declare the strike immediately but Organised Labour is made up of other unions and so it is appropriate that we inform those unions appropriately before a major strike.”
He said, “There are various processes that are taken before a strike and that is why we are giving a one-week window.”
Source: Citinewsroom.com
Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem has today revealed in Parliament that special audit has uncovered over payments for transportation of grains in respect of the dry spell expenditure.
According to the Deputy Minister, Under the Farmer Food Relief and Recovery Programme, a transportation company was contracted to transport 134,000 metric tonnes of maize and rice to farmers across the country at a contract sum of GH¢115.2 million.
Even though the company transported only 35,000 metric tonnes which should have costed GH¢30.9 million, the company was paid GH¢50 million.
In addition to this payment, the company was given 7,311 metric tonnes of rice equivalent to 14,622 bags of 50kg rice, which amounts to GH¢11.7 million in lieu of cash for no work done. This brings total payment to GH¢61.7 million.
As a result, the Auditor-General accordingly rejected an amount of GH¢65.2 million that was requested by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture as additional payment to the said transport company.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
Deputy Minister for Finance, Thomas Ampem Nyarko, has revealed that thousands of tonnes of food supplied under government’s 2024 dry spell intervention cannot be accounted for after a special audit.
According to him, the audit found discrepancies in the supply of rice and maize purchased by the Government of Ghana to support farmers and vulnerable communities affected by the dry spell.
He explained that government paid for 34,000 metric tonnes of rice to help address the impact of the dry spell. However, records from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture show that only 24,000 metric tonnes were received and distributed.
He noted that about 10,000 metric tonnes of rice remain unaccounted for even though the full quantity had already been paid for by the state.
The deputy minister also disclosed that government had contracted a company to supply 100,000 metric tonnes of maize as part of the intervention.
He said the Ministry of Food and Agriculture submitted Stores Receipt Advice as proof that the full quantity of maize valued at GH¢771.2 million had been delivered. The document was presented to the Ministry of Finance to facilitate payment.
However, the audit revealed that only 11,900 metric tonnes of maize were actually supplied and distributed.
He further stated that the Stores Receipt Advice used to support the payment was accompanied by a checklist certified by the internal auditor of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
The findings form part of a special audit conducted to review government expenditure related to the dry spell response in 2024.
By Jacob Aggrey
