Brong Ahafo NDC issues communique on layoffs

Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) -- Members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Brong Ahafo Region have expressed concern about the way NPP government was laying off workers and replacing them with NPP operatives.

This was contained in a communique issued at the end of a meeting between the regional executives of the party and the leadership of the cadres of the 31st December Revolution in the southern and western parts of the region in Sunyani.

The communiqu?, signed by Alhaji Kwadwo Mama Adam, NDC regional chairman, assessed the present democratic political dispensation in the country and advised the government to reconsider its decision to pay only two months salary in lieu of severance to the laid off staff of the National Mobilization Programme (NMP), irrespective of the number of years served.

''The government should pay off the affected workers in accordance with laid down labour regulations'', the communique noted. The communiqu?, agreed with the government for procuring 100 Peugeot 306 saloon cars to resource the Ghana Police Service to enable the service to function effectively, but condemned it for spending 13 million dollars for that purpose without rooting it through Parliament.

''One peugeot 306 at 130,000 dollars or 980 million cedis is too expensive and we demand a thorough investigations into its purchase'', it stated. The communiqu? urged the government to make public the conditionalities attached to Ghana's acceptance of the HIPC to enable Ghanaians to "prepare adequately for what is to come". It commended the NDC minority members in parliament for working so hard at exposing the failures of the NPP government and keeping them on their toes.