The Trades Union Congress (TUC) Ghana, on Wednesday, called on President John Dramani Mahama and his administration to create more jobs as a way of fixing the weak Ghanaian economy, so as to reduce the horrendous poverty hanging around the necks of the people.
The call was made by the outgoing Secretary-General of the TUC, Mr. Kofi Asamoah, when he addressed the 10th Quadrennial Delegates’ Conference of the union, under the theme: “Building workers power for decent work and national development” in Kumasi.
He expressed the TUC’s displeasure over the daily minimum wage in the country, at a time when the nation prides itself as a lower middle income state.
According to him, salaries or ‘take home pay’ of most workers could simply not take them home. The story, which was published in the Friday, August 12, 2016 edition of The Chronicle, under the headline;
“TUC tells Mahama: fix economy, reduce poverty”, captured Mr. Asamoah as warning the government that TUC will be more difficult in the coming years, if it did not attend to the grievances of the fuming workers.
He said the rights of workers are being trampled upon, which, according to him, is evidenced by the fact that the face value of workers’ premium is bad against high interest rates and unstable power supply.
Blaming the poor state of Ghanaian workers on the policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the TUC boss said: “IMF policies are not working, and that Ghanaians are getting poorer and poorer under the Bretton Woods initiative. IMF has never worked anywhere, and it will not work.”
Indeed, ordinarily, Ghanaians are not supposed to be reeling under severe poverty and harsh economic conditions, judging from what the Almighty God has endowed the nation with.
It is a known secret that Ghana is well-endowed with natural resources. Agriculture, which employs more than half of the total workforce, mainly small landholders, accounts for almost a quarter of the country’s GDP.
The services sector also accounts for 50% of GDP. Gold, cocoa production and individual remittances are the major sources of foreign exchange for the country.
Oil production at our offshore Jubilee field, which began in mid-December 2010, is producing close to target levels. Additional oil projects are being developed, and are expected to come on line in a few years to come.
Estimated oil reserves have jumped to almost 700 million barrels, and our growing oil industry is expected to boost economic growth.
According to the 2016 CIA World Fact Book, Ghana’s economy was strengthened by a quarter century of relatively sound management, competitive business environment, and sustained reductions in poverty levels, which led to the country being re-categorised as a lower middle-income country in late 2010.
But despite commendable achievement, the CIA still thinks “President Mahama faces challenges in managing a population that is unhappy with living standards.”
The Chronicle is, therefore calling on the Mahama-led administration to heed the call of the TUC, and work hard in these last few months to the elections, to assuage the perception Ghanaians have about his government, in terms of corruption, which has been confirmed by the CIA report.
The reality on the ground, as every Ghanaian knows, is that poverty has engulfed the majority of the people, which has made it practically impossible for them to provide for their families.
People are losing their jobs by the day, as a result of unstable electricity power, massive unemployment, leading to the formation of the Unemployed Graduates Association, and the increase in prostitution as well as armed robbery cases across the country.
Wherever one goes, people are complaining about harsh economic conditions, leading to many parents unable to cater for their children. Under these harsh conditions, whatever achievements the government has made, in terms of infrastructure, becomes useless in the ears of the masses.