‘Rich’ lifestyle of politicians provoke workers agitations – Prof Stephen Adei

A former Board Chairman of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Professor Stephen Adei, has said that the lifestyle of the Executive and Members of Parliament is partly to blame for the decision of public sector workers to reject the Base Pay for 2021 and 2022.

While stressing that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic “does not support salary increment,” he noted that the government had also failed to communicate the gravity of the country’s economic situation to the people.

“The government has not been able to communicate the gravity of the economic situation we are in, and the lifestyle of the Executive and MPs belie what they would say.

“I believe that the time has come for a deliberate modelling of what is happening and get Ghanaians going,” Prof. Adei said while delivering the keynote address at the maiden edition of the Governance and Business Leadership Awards in Accra last Friday night.

Agitations

There have been widespread agitations among public sector workers and unions against the government’s decision to increase the 2021 Base Pay by four per cent and that of 2022 by seven per cent.

The agitators cite the rising cost of living as a basis to reject what some have described as peanut increment, with the Trades Union Congress initially proposing a 15 per cent increment at the start of negotiations with the government.

While acknowledging the sufferings of the public amid the pandemic, Prof. Adei also urged public sector workers to exercise patience as the pandemic had taken a heavy toll on the economy.

“I think that the economy cannot support, for some time, salary increases. When I hear about the need for more salary and other things and public sector employees; some of them the teachers who stayed home for six months without working were paid, and are now saying that if you increase my salary from four or seven per cent, I will go on strike,” he said.

Corruption

Touching on corruption, Prof. Adei expressed concern that the canker had become endemic, especially in the public sector, making it difficult for the people to access essential public services.

He underscored the need to strengthen institutions in the country to effectively discharge their mandate as well as enforcement of the plethora of laws that have been promulgated in the past to check the menace.

“The time has come that every public official must declare their assets publicly. And if we say that people will not accept public office when we do that my answer would be that if thieves don’t want to go into public service, we are better off,” he said.

Prof. Adei further stressed that the government must tackle unemployment seriously by encouraging entrepreneurship, especially among the youth and create an atmosphere that would support the growth of businesses.

Awards

A total of 20 distinguished personalities who had excelled in their various endeavours and have made significant contributions to the development of the country were honoured at the event.

Organised by RAD Communications Limited, the ceremony was on the theme: “Leadership and nation-building; realities, challenges and the way forward in contemporary Ghana.”