President reacts to report

The Minister of Information and Presidential Affairs, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, has reacted to media reports of comments made by the President, John Kufuor, on the End-of-Service Benefit (ESB) during his recent tour of the Northern Region.

A transcript of a video footage representing what was exactly said by President and seeking to correct any unfortunate attributions on his part read: “Since I started my tour two days ago I have heard that back in Accra, some workers have started agitating-putting the red band on their heads and hands because they say government must restore End-of-Service Benefit immediately or otherwise they will go on strike.

“I believe they are being unfair to this government. It was not this government that abolished the End-of-Service Benefit. It was abolished by the previous regime and yet, it was that regime that at the end of its tenure took End-of-Service Benefit. And I didn’t hear the workers then complain against that government.

“I have come and I have promised that I want partnership between the workers and the employers and that government will be party to their partnership for the good of Ghana.

“I have said we must restore value to the money of Ghana and improve the economy for the benefit of all of us. And any normal right thinking person knows it takes time to correct a failed economy like we inherited and government is keeping to its word. So why should anybody want to force a confrontation with this government, especially during this season of Ramadan and Xmas?

“I want to believe the workers who are talking, as I have heard, are talking in sincerity and out of innocence. I don’t want to believe there is an ulterior motive or hidden hands behind those who are seeking agitation now. Because, if it is right, if there is an ulterior motive then I want to assure those people this government will not budge. It will move at its own pace and will keep the promise it has made to Ghana. It won’t be hes-er rushed.

“It won’t be stampeded. So let the workers desist, let them talk. And the gates of the government are open for dialogue. Already, I have instructed my Minister, the sector Minister responsible, to talk to the leaders of the workers to try and make sanity prevail. So I want to use this platform to tell everybody this government will never take the working masses of Ghana for a ride.

“This is not a government that will want to cheat its workers. This is not a government that will want to take for itself what it will deny others. The proof is there for any objective observer to see. So I am appealing to them to let the spirit of the season prevail. Ramadan is starting in a few days’ time and Xmas is around the corner. These are seasons of goodwill. They should let goodwill prevail and give this government time to prove itself.

“We talked of HIPC, we have worked at it and the whole world is acknowledging the rightness of that policy. It will be a shame if some sections of our society should seek to undermine this very positive policy government has taken for the benefit of the economy and people of Ghana.

“Soon, and I repeat, soon our creditors around the world will endorse the initiative we tood in HIPC. So let the workers be patient and bid their time with this government. They should stop wearing the red band. They should stop threatening. They should rather seek to be productive wherever they are so we put value into our money and we earn more for what we produce.

“That is the way to ensure that at the end of your working life, you get whatever. Whatever you take will be something of value. We don’t want to give you paper money that does not pay anything so I am appealing to you - be patient, be tolerant. And think of Ghana. Think of the economy for the benefit of all of us.

The Daily Graphic in its Thursday November 21 issue had quoted President Kufuor to have stated in his address at a Tamale gathering that, “we will not take workers for a ride. We are ready for dialogue, but at the same time, we shall not kowtow to unrealistic demands.”

The alleged statement by the President has had some rippling effect as some workers unions have registered their displeasure at what was said to be the President’s comments about workers.