- Told to learn from Sri Lanka unrest to restructure govt
Two Ghanaian civil society activists, have cautioned the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, to pay a critical attention to the unrest happening in the island nation of Sri Lanka, where the menace of family and friends, nepotism and non-performance, have collapsed that country’s economy, to with immediate effect, restructure his government.
The call, comes as Public Service Workers Union, yesterday served notice for their intended strike to commence from July 19, 2022 to demand a 20percent Cost of Living Allowance (COLA).
While, the boss of policy think tank, IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, believes the Sri Lanka situation, should be of concern to any leader overseeing a failed economy, Dr Adam Bonaa, a security analyst, argues that Ghana, is likely to face the Sri Lanka situation where hundreds of angry youth besieged the Presidential Palace over mismanagement of the economy.
According to Dr Bonaa, this might happen in Ghana, if President Akufo-Addo, fails to with immediate effect sack non-performing ministers and reshuffle his cabinet, and therefore, called on the President to cut down the size of his government, whilst taking urgent steps to address the ongoing protest by organized labour.
Already, the teacher unions are on strike over COLA. The Ghana Medical Association (GMA), the Nurses and Midwives Associations, have also made similar calls to the government on the demand for Cost of Living Allowance that if not met they will lay-down their tools.
Dr Bonaa, argued that a reshuffle,e plus the dismissal of some non performing ministers, will force citizens to give the new entrants some time to ascertain what they will bring on board.
“Yes [what happened in Sri Lanka] can happen in Ghana but what the President can do is to sack all non-performing ministers and pave the way for some who can do the job. He must also cut down the size of the government because some of the ministers are not doing anything. Most of them (Ministers) are not working but they receive fuel allowance, provision of state security (Police) and also receive ex gratia at the end of his term. He must also reshuffle some of the ministers. The president must also act quickly in dealing with the labor agitation whilst reducing fuel prices,” Dr Bonaa said.
He added that the “move will give the people hope and ensure stability because where the people live in a state of hopelessness like it happened in Sri Lanka, when there’s no hope, people begin to challenge those who are not giving them hope”.
Dr Bonaa, however, observed that the President, has demonstrated little capacity in dismissing some of his appointees, citing absentee MP, Sarah Adwoa Safo, as an example.
In his view, some of the labour agitations stem from President Akufo-Addo’s inability to sack the Gender Minister, although she continues to draw salaries from state coffers.
“I don’t believe the President has demonstrated that he will reshuffle his ministers because a president who cannot sack Sarah Adwoa Safo cannot sack anybody, a President who cannot sack the Agric minister cannot sack anybody. Adwoa Safo has been appointed to occupy a very sensitive position but has been away for almost a year whilst drawing her salaries. I will only have confidence in the President when he begins to sack people like Adjoa Safo. Some of these things are annoying everybody including the organized labour,” Dr Bonaa told Oyerepa Breakfast show host Kwesi Parker-Wilson in an interview.
Sri Lanka, the island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of India, has been in the news following a People’s Revolution that ousted the President and Prime Minister of the country.
Thousands of locals protesting the general high cost of living amid a deteriorating economy, stormed the official residences of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe over the weekend.
The images from the mass action, have been beamed across the world as locals treated themselves to the presidential swimming pool, slept in the President’s bed and ate from his kitchen, while others also worked out in the gym.
The lessons from the Sri Lankan revolution, especially on social media, has been that any government that pushes its people too far, will have to bear their wrath be it through the polls or via a revolution.
The Founding President of policy think tank, IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, commenting on the incident via a July 11 social media post said; “Events in Sri Lanka should make any leader overseeing a failed economy quake in his boots.”
In another Sri Lanka-related post, he zoomed in on the Akufo-Addo-led government, tasking the government among others, to refund salaries of three years and take an over 50percent pay cut in light of economic downturn.
“For going to the IMF, the President and ministers should refund 50% of all salaries earned in the past 3 years. Also reduce current salaries by 60% & STOP ex-gratia payments No more private jets! Remember Sri Lanka!” his post read.
Government on July 1, opted to turn to the International Monetary Fund, IMF, for an economic rescue programme, after it emerged that the main revenue measure by way of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) had failed to meet expected revenue inflows.
An IMF team arrived in Accra last week and has been holding talks with government representatives.
The Sri Lankan President and the Prime Minister, have since announced their resignations, following the upheaval and even as protesters refuse to abandon the residences that they have occupied since last weekend.
The resignations mark a major win for protesters, but the future of the country’s 22 million people is uncertain, as they struggle to buy basic goods, fuel and medicine, a CNN report noted.
The Public Service Workers Union, in a statement issued after an emergency meeting on July 8, 2022, the Union catalogued a number of reasons for their demand.
“In the midst of rising cost of living, inflation currently pegged at 27.6% (with a propensity to rise further), and pending astronomical increases in utility tariffs, the economic analysis which formed the basis of our acceptance of a 1-year salary increment for the year 2022 has obviously been thrown out of gear.”
“Considering the worsening economic challenges, members of the PSWU are left with no other option but to draw attention to their economic well-being,” they explained.
Yesterday, four Teacher Unions walked out of an ongoing negotiation meeting with the government over their demand for COLA saying the posture from the government side is betrayal of trust which has informed their decision to walk out of the meeting.
“All it means is that the government side is not ready to continue with negotiation unless the teacher unions call off the strike.
“We have held all Organized Labour hostage and this is a betrayal of trust. Because the understanding we had is that Organized Labour is convinced for us to find a solution on the issue of COLA.
“Right now, we are all desirable. We think that before they even walk us out of the meeting we are walking out ourselves,” the General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Angel Carbonou told the media.
Teacher Unions in the country, Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) and Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU) declared an indefinite strike on Monday, July 4, 2022.
However, some lower Primary schools in the Eastern and Volta regions have been closed down due to the strike action by teachers unions in the education sector. But, the Ghana Education Service (GES) has directed heads of senior high schools to keep schools open and students supervised despite the strike by teacher unions in the country.
