Speaker Bagbin is Full of Wisdom - GPHA Ex-Workers
The over four thousand ex-workers of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority who were retrenched in 2002 without their severance benefits have hailed Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, after the Speaker indicted stakeholders of Ghana’s electoral management and demanded that the right thing be done.
Pointing out that what is happening with the country’s electoral management is akin to injustice that they, the ex-workers, have suffered at the hands of officials of state, the leadership of the ex-workers said the Speaker’s bold call oozes with wisdom.
“Speaker Alban Bagbin spoke wisdom on this occasion, just as he has always done because he is full of wisdom,” said Mr. Stephen Ashitey Adjei, leader of the ex-workers, on the sidelines of a meeting.
According to the man popularly called Moshake, “if suchlike voice had been heeded in 2002 then the injustice that was, and is still being inflicted on us would not have happened and everybody would be at peace.”
The ex-workers are particularly fond of Speaker Bagbin because he is one of the very few people who have fought for the ex-workers to be paid what is due them.
The Speaker had recently been commenting on the conduct of the electoral commission in the build-up to the December 2024 elections in an interview with Accra based TV3, when he warned that Ghana is playing with fire in reaction to inflammatory statements by some members of the electoral Commission.
The Rt. Hon. Bagbin, while accusing the government of being meddlesome in the affairs of the EC, also chastised the EC itself for not making trustworthy preparation towards the 2024 elections.
The Speaker also expressed unhappiness about the impasse over the Ada Songhor Lagoon which the government has given out to one company Electrochem, to the neglect of the rest of the community which has been relying on the salt lagoon for income for ages.
According to Moshake what the Speaker has observed is the unfortunate attitude of officials whose carelessness and lack of commitment to accountability has brought affliction to many, including the over 4,000 ex-workers of the GPHA.
“This same attitude that the Rt. Honourable Speaker talks about is what has resulted in just five out of the over four thousand of us being paid their rightfully earned severance benefits. This is why we say that the Speaker is a wise man,” Moshake said.
He added that the call by the Speaker for Ghanaians to do the right thing should be treated by all duty bearers in Ghana as clarion calls on them. “in this regard, I will especially say it behooves on the GPHA to heed it and expedite action on paying us our benefits which has delayed for over 20 years.”
Meanwhile, Moshake heaped praise on persons that he says have been trying to help right the wrong that was perpetrated against the ex-workers in 2002, starting with president Akufo-Addo.
“We always ask for blessings for His Excellency President Nana Akufo-Addo for the order he issued last year to the GPHA to pay us. We also are very appreciative of the late former President Mills who issued a fiat for us to be paid in July 2012. And of course, we count as our best ally, The Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament, A.S.K. Bagbin for helping us on our journey for justice since 2002.”
On his part, Daniel Baccah, one of the ex-workers expressed annoyance with former President John Mahama, who abandoned the process for them to be paid after Mills, who had issued the fiat in 2012 for them to be paid, suddenly died in office leaving Mahama who was Vice to Mills, in charge.
“We will never forget the betrayal of John Mahama and how he is now the reason why we have remained unpaid. One thing is for sure, not a single one of us, our family or our friends will vote for John Mahama. We are only waiting to see what the Akufo-Addo government will do so we decide whether we will organize and vote en-bloc for His Excellency Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia or not. But as for John Mahama, we have rejected him in our souls,” Daniel Baccah said.
Leave A Comment