GNA workers threaten to oust GM like Mubarak and Ghaddafi

The workers of Ghana News Agency (GNA) are threatening to oust their General Manager, Nana Appau Dua on grounds of incompetence if the National Media Commission (NMC) does not do so with immediate effect.

The leaders of the two workers unions at GNA have presented separate petitions to the NMC demanding for the termination of the GM’s appointment after the Board Chairman Dr. Bonnah Koomson openly accused the GM of being the cause of all the woes of workers during a durbar.

General Secretary of the GNA chapter of the Communications Workers Union, Mr. Felix Atukwei Quaye says workers knew from day one that the GM was incompetent but since the board has now realized it, “it is time for him to go.” “People must know that GNA workers want change and change will come, either the Mubarak way or the Ghaddafi way,” he said.

Mr. Quaye noted that beside the accusation from the board chairman, the GM is officially due to retire by mid-March, but there have been hints that the NMC intends to extend his appointment for one more year, but they will not settle for that.

He said workers are oblivious to the reason the NMC want to keep the GM in office when workers and the board have shown proof of his incompetence to the NMC on several occasion.

“He is the only one happy in GNA because he gets a fat salary from the NMC but he has not delivered on a single promise he made to workers since he took over.” “The man only boasts of pavements and canopies he has built for people to park their cars but has done absolutely nothing to improve the conditions of workers and the interior of the GNA offices where workers sit and work,” he said. Mr. Quaye noted that recently the CWU got sponsorship for the refurbishment of the Newsroom and the GM “shamelessly” came and commissioned the refurbished newsroom even though he did not play any role in that.

“Since we wrote the petition to the NMC our intelligence information indicates that he has singled out some of us and threatened not approve our claims for reimbursement – if he is a man he should try it,” he said. Some workers who spoke on grounds of anonymity also noted that the agency suffered water problems sometimes for weeks and that make the stench from the toilets occupy the entire building but the GM goes unconcerned. When Adom News reached Dr. Bonnah Koomson on phone he asked to be given time to study the situation that his comments about the GM has created before responding. Efforts to get the NMC to respond to the issues raised proved futile as they would not pick their calls. Meanwhile GNA workers are still grappling with issues regarding how the single spine salary scheme has left some of them virtually “spineless” as almost all the members of management have had their salaries almost doubled under the SSSS.