Posted:The Chronicle | Wednesday, June 10, 2009
By Charles Takyi Boadu
The group is not too sure whether the President still believes in his campaign message and has therefore charged government to as a matter of urgency consider an upward review of the salaries and wages of Ghanaian workers to commensurate with the rippling effects on the economy and the sudden increase in prices of goods and services.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra yesterday, Spokesperson for AFAG, Daniel Marfo Ofori-Atta said “the current increase in fuel prices portrays the real character of the NDC as a group willing to use subterfuge to gain electoral advantage,” since according to him, “the increase is the outcome of a government that is failing to show direction, and lost the essence of its role in solving the prevailing economic hardship of the Ghanaian.” Instead of putting money in the pockets of Ghanaians, he noted that the NDC administration has done the opposite, noting “more than ever
before, the masses of our people are confronted with the severe problem of high food prices, fuel cost and high cost of utilities and allied expenditures.”
He wondered why a government such as that of the NDC, which claims to be a social democrat in its ideas and belief would now be selling kerosene, the main source of energy for the country’s poor rural folks at a whopping price of GH ¢ 86.45 pesewas per a litre (¢34,500) as against GH ¢66.50 pesewas per a litre (¢26,600), whilst Premix fuel now sells at GH ¢51.48 pessewas per a litre as against the previous price of GH ¢39.60 pesewas per litre.
For this reason, AFAG says it is opposed to the current 30% and previous 10% price increases in fuel, under the Mills’ administration which is barely six months old in government, since in its opinion “it increases the hardship on Ghanaians as there is no commensurate increase in salaries of workers”, charging “Mr. President, the economy is dying. Where is the ‘I Care for you’ slogan you so eloquently chanted during the campaign?”
It therefore asked -“Has the President forgotten the poor Ghanaians he promised to save from the NPP? It seems that the ‘I care for you’ slogan has turned into ‘I would kill you with a blunt machete.”
In spite of all these untold hardships, AFAG says it is reliably informed that government, on the advice of IMF intends to increase the prices of utilities by taking off subsidies including water and electricity.
The group reckons this would further increase the hardship on the average Ghanaian, stressing that it is well aware an increase in toll fees whilst more are being constructed.
AFAG believes “this in no small means would add to the burden of the Ghanaian, which the President eloquently vowed to protect and feed in the course of his campaign.”
It also complained about the current high cost of living in the country, as a result of the continuous fall in the value of the cedi, which currently trades for ¢1.46 GH to US $1 USD (inter-bank rate closing Friday 16th May), emphasizing “the harsh effects of this fall in the value of the cedi has resulted in the high cost of operations of firms who trade in import goods, hence the likelihood of some folding up, the inability for petty traders to break even with poor sales, difficulty in acquiring bank loans which previously were available at their doorstep and the tendency of the Private sector performing poorly due to the high bank lending rates and decrease in demand for goods and services due to a fall in value of workers’ salaries are just a minor part of the consequences of the fall in the value of the cedi.”
“We would want to remind the President’s Economic Advisory Team of basic macro-economic expectations that in the face of price increases, Governments are advised that ‘labour do not suffer money elusion’ (meaning as prices goes up, labour expect an immediate increase in wages/salaries. Indeed, not a nominal increase but a real increase)”, said the group.
It thus noted “any attempt by Government to practice income policy (i.e. deliberate attempt by governments to hold wages in the wake of price increases), a policy rejected by seasoned economists, which could lead to civil unrest and many strike actions.
We therefore could sense some social turbulence as a result of strike actions in the next 4-8 months, if the situation remains the same.” Members of AFAG also noted that they foresee the deepening in poverty levels, upsurge of corruption, crime, poor nutrition and all other forms of social vices by the end of the year if prudent fiscal policies are not immediately put in place, stressing “these consequences unfortunately plaques the majority of ordinary Ghanaians who have no security provision, unlike members of Government households of the ordinary Ghanaian who suffer one way or the other from this avalanche of social brute.”
AFAG thus envisages a gradual return to the harsh conditions of the 1980s and 1990s under former President Rawlings’ PNDC and NDC regimes, indicating that the worsening economic situation would not change because “the character of the social and political forces which dominated the twenty years administration of J.J Rawlings are the same forces in government today.”
For AFAG, “what has changed is that, mediocrities and misfits have been transplanted overnight from situations of obscurity and poverty into positions of influence and affluence. Within six months in government, many Ghanaians including ardent supporters of the current regime have realised the benefit of social democracy for a privileged few.”
It therefore expressed disappointment in the silence of the TUC, GNAT, NAGRAT and the leadership of other trade unions and civil society organizations, as they observe decreases in the purchasing power of workers.