GPCC Wades Into UTAG And Govt Labour Unrest Brouhaha

Members of the National Executive Council and Heads of Churches and Organisations of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) have waded into the long unending impasse between members of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) and government.

According to GPCC, the recent unrest in the labor front, especially in the education sector and particularly the almost four weeks of industrial action by UTAG is of grave concern to the Council. 

Following this development, the Council called on the government and UTAG to consider the long-term impact of this stalemate on the future of the students and return to the negotiation table with open minds, less entrenched positions, and commitments to respecting the outcome of all negotiated settlements. 

The Council also urged the National Labour Commission in particular to at all times demonstrate a posture of impartiality and proactiveness in resolving labor disputes rather than being reactionary in their approach to dealing with labor unions. 

"While urging government-the employer to demonstrate sincerity and commitments to a lasting negotiated settlement to this impasse, the statement appealed to UTAG to consider calling off its industrial action and returning to the negotiation table," the Council stressed.

The foregoing call was contained in the two-page communiqué issued by the members of the GPCC at the end of its Annual Conference held at the Pentecost Convention Centre at  Gomoa-Fetteh in the Central Region.

The communiqué was issued by the leadership of the National Executive Council in the persons of five. Prof. Paul Frimpong-Manso, Most Rev. Sam Korankye Ankrah, Apostle Eric Kwabena Nyamekye, Rev. Emmanuel Teimah Barrigah, Apostle Dr. Aaron Nartey Ami-Nar, Apostle George Yeboah, Most Rev. Dr. Charles Agyinasari, Rt. Rev. Samuel Noi Mensah, Rt. Rev. Dr. Nana Anyani-Boadum, Bishop Dr. Gordon Kisseih and Bishop Dr. Samuel Prince Baah.

On the issue of the corrupt practices of the government appointees, the Council in the communiqué expressed grave worry about the increasing cases of corruption and mismanagement of public funds as revealed by the 2020 Auditor General’s Report on MMDAs and some SOEs. 

While Ghanaians are being called upon to pay more taxes to facilitate development, the Council pointed out that the country has public officers embezzling, misapplying, and misappropriating public funds through various corrupt activities causing the state to lose billions of Ghana Cedis, with most culprits going unpunished over the years.

"We, therefore, call on the Office of the Special Prosecutor to take a keen interest in the reports of the Auditor-General to save this country from the brink of social upheavals," it stressed.

The Council in a communiqué noted that the outcome of the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections left no one in doubt that Ghanaians voted for unity and consensus building especially in an almost hung Parliament. 

The Council pointed out that recent confusion in Parliament over the passage of the E-Levy Bill has exposed the extreme partisanship and lack of consensus-building between the Executive and the Legislature and between the leadership of the two main political parties in Parliament.

The Council in a communiqué, therefore, appealed to all parties to use dialogue and consensus building in coming to decisions in the interest of the collective will of the people of Ghana whom they seek to serve.

It pointed out that the recent political instability in West Africa, especially in Mali and Burkina Faso is of great concern to the Council and many Ghanaians as it has the potential to spill over into Ghana and other West African countries, thus destabilizing the entire sub-region. 

"While commending government for reinforcing our northern borders with additional military presence to ward off any potential infiltrations by the Jihadist, and their allies, we call on the government to take steps to address key human security threats such as food, economic and livelihoods security issues within Ghana," the communiqué noted

The Council reaffirmed its strong belief in the Ghanaian through the Church of Jesus Christ, to rise once again to the challenges of nation-building, urging all to eschew all forms of negative attitudes that drawback national progress but instilling in us the sense of patriotism.