SCANDALOUS DAYLIGHT STEALING

1. This letter was written by the Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Elizabeth Sackey, to the Youth Employment Agency (YEA). The subject is well-known, but let me help you with the details.

2. The YEA has a contract with Zoomlion (since 2006), which states that Zoomlion should manage the cleaners and sweepers of all the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana.

3. The contract says the YEA and the MMDAs should employ the cleaners and give them to Zoomlion to manage.

4. But, as this letter shows, the MMDAs and the YEA do not know the number of cleaners managed by Zoomlion across the country. The government pays Zoomlion in Accra based on the claim of numbers Zoomlion presents for payment. For a long time, the claim has been that 45,000 people are doing the work.

5. Zoomlion is paid 850 cedis per cleaner, but the contract says Zoomlion should pay each cleaner 250 cedis and keep 600 cedis as fees. The cleaners have no benefits such as transportation, health insurance or retirement package. If they fall ill battling the filth in our gutters and markets, they’re on their own.

6. That’s not all the woes these miserable cleaners go through. A letter I have intercepted shows that Zoomlion has not paid these cleaners for more than one year, even though the company claims the high fees and interest it charges the government is because it pre-finances the payment before the government pays later.

7. Because the slave wage of 250 cedis ($17) a month is too low and is not always paid, most cleaners do not go to work, as evidenced in this letter from the AMA Chief Executive.

8. But whether there are cleaners working or not, Zoomlion is paid the full amount by the number of workers it presents. To put it clearly, government officials such as the board members of the YEA, Ministers of State related to the programme and state officials paid to represent our interest know that there are not 45,000 people sweeping the streets and markets across the country, but they multiply that number by 850 cedis and pay to Zoomlion as its monthly bill.

9. In 2018, the YEA CEO, Justin Frimpong Koduah (the current NPP General Secretary), conducted a head count and concluded that the number of cleaners was far lower than what Zoomlion presented for payment. At a press conference in Accra, he said Zoomlion failed to produce its payroll to back its claim. He announced that the contract with Zoomlion would be discontinued, but that did not happen. The government continued to pay Zoomlion even though the company failed to authenticate the numbers.

9. In 2022, the AMA CEO wanted the list of the cleaners working in her metropolis, based on which money is deducted from her Common Fund at source and paid to Zoomlion.

10. The YEA, which signed the contract with Zoomlion and is supposed to recruit the cleaners for Zoomlion, told the AMA CEO that it did not know the number of cleaners being managed by Zoomlion, but it continues to pay Zoomlion based on the number Zoomlion presents. How do I know this?

11. The October 13, 2022 board minutes of the YEA captures the frustration of the YEA CEO, Kofi Baah Agyepong, who wanted the contract with Zoomlion terminated. In the board minutes, the YEA CEO is quoted as confessing that the YEA could not respond to the AMA CEO because the YEA did not know the people who were supposed to be working in the AMA area.

12. The board minutes said:

“The CEO further stated that management does not have the data to authenticate any claims from the service provider [Zoomlion], including the number of beneficiaries at post and working. Hence, when the Accra Metropolitan Assembly requested information on beneficiaries working in the metropolis, management could not provide them with the same. The CEO mentioned that this occasioned a meeting with the regional minister, who raised further issues with the quality of work done in Accra city and its environs.

The CEO stated that management has the capacity to manage the sanitation [module] if given the opportunity.”

13. In 2017, I produced a documentary titled “Robbing the Assemblies”. I revealed that the assemblies had resorted to employing their own sweepers to clean the markets and paying them, even though their Common Fund was being used to pay Zoomlion for the non-existent cleaners in their areas.

14. This means that because of the low wage of 250 cedis a month, which can be in areas for more than a year, many of the supposed sweepers managed by Zoomlion have left the job. But Zoomlion continues to receive payment for managing them. And the assemblies, which are already paying Zoomlion for this service, will have to incur additional costs to clean their streets and markets. If this is not robbing the state to pay a shady company, what is it?

15. Former President John Dramani Mahama knows about this theft because when I first revealed details of this scandal in 2013 as part of my GYEEDA investigations, he was the President of Ghana. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the NPP said at the time that President Mahama could not cancel fraudulent deals such as this because he was personally benefitting from it. The Akufo-Addo administration escalated the shady deals to Zoomlion when he won the 2016 election and got into office. And Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia knows about this as well.

16. Ladies and gentlemen, I have been consistently writing about this since 2013. The CEO of the YEA wants this deal canceled, and I have been told the Local Government Minister, Martin Agyei-Mensah Korsah, is not happy about it.

17. As revealed in my book, “The President Ghana Never Got”, the YEA CEO appealed to top forces in the Akufo-Addo administration, including the presidency, to help him discontinue this brazen theft of our money, but he did not get any support.

18. I don’t write this because I hate Joseph Siaw Agyepong, the Zoomlion CEO, who is a respected elder of THE CHURCH OF PENTECOST. The poor sweepers should not be treated like slaves. And the assemblies, which are paying for their streets and markets to be cleaned, should not use their meagre resources to employ additional sweepers because those managed by Zoomlion have left post, but the company continues to get paid.

19. In 2016, Akufo-Addo told us he was not a thief and would not preside over the stealing of our resources. We believed him and voted for him.

20. Mr. President, the ball is in your court.

PLEASE: Share and forward to any government official you know.

source; Manasseh Azure Awuni

Unpaid Allowances and Unfulfilled Collective Agreement: Teacher Union Hints at Another Strike

President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Angel Carbonu, has expressed his displeasure at what he describes as a deliberate attempt by the government to ignore their concerns until they lay down their tools.

According to him, teachers are yet to receive their allowances among other benefits as stipulated in the Collective Agreement signed on May 24, 2024.

Teachers Condition of Service; Collective Agreement Ready

Mr Carbonu said despite efforts to get authorities to resolve their issues, nothing appears to be done.

Speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s Top Story on August 28, he said the government owed them a certain allowance as far back as three years ago and has still not indicated when it would fulfill its part of the agreement.

He said the union therefore has no other option than to use the language the government understands to get them to fulfil their side of the bargain.

“We are having serious challenges with the current situation that is bedevilling us. As you and I see the last time car maintenance allowance was paid to the Ghana Education Service was three years ago.

“So as far as the Ghana Education Service was concerned, car maintenance allowance are not being paid.

“So do we always have to state an industrial action for people to do what they are supposed to do my law,” he quizzed.

NAGRAT and other teacher unions, in a press release signed on Tuesday, threatened to embark on industrial action if the Ghana Education Service failed to act swiftly to resolve the precarious and difficult situation currently confronting the teachers by the close of Monday, September 16, 2024.

Background

NEGOTIATION AGREEMENT

BETWEEN THE EMPLOYER AND PRE-TERTIARY TEACHER UNIONS
THIS NEGOTIATION AGREEMENT is made this 31stday of May, 2024
BETWEEN

The Government Team, represented by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC),
Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Employment and Labour
Relations (MELR) and Ghana Education Service (GES) (hereinafter called “The Employer”)
of the one part,
AND

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) in collaboration with National
Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and Coalition of Concerned Teachers,
Ghana (CCT-GH) (hereinafter called “The Association”) of the other part;
Whereas the Parties having negotiated on the Conditions of Service for the Pre-Tertiary
Teachers in the Ghana Education Service

Whereas the Parties having negotiated in utmost good faith with each other and agreed on
the issues for negotiation;

Whereas this Agreement sets forth the terms and understanding between the Parties;
NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereby agree as follows:

TERMS OF AGREEMENT READ FULL HERE

 

Teachers Condition of Service; Collective Agreement Ready

Get the Latest on Salary and Allowance Here

source; Adomonline.com

An Accra Circuit Court has remanded two off-duty police constables in custody after they attacked an Okada rider and stole GH¢3,700.

General Lance Corporals Philmon Agbevem and Peter Kwame Badagbor, both stationed at the Accra Central District Police Command, have been charged with conspiracy to commit crime and robbery.

The accused were said to have forced the complainant to withdraw money on his mobile phone to another phone registered in the name of one Hope Alorvordzi.

The two, represented by their counsel, Andy Vortia, have denied all charges.

They are due to appear before the court presided over by Evelyn Asamoah on September 10, 2024.

The prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Kofi Anane, led by ASP Emmanuel Haligah, told the court that the complainant, Emmanuel Amertodor, is an Okada rider who lives in Adenta.

On July 21, 2024, the two off-duty police officers on a motorcycle with registration number GP 8145 apprehended the complainant based on information that he and his pillion rider had stolen a purse containing a mobile phone and other personal effects from a lady at the National Theatre and were heading towards the Thomas Sankara roundabout.

According to the prosecution, the accused, dressed in their uniforms and armed with a rifle, trailed the motorcyclists and stopped them at the Christ the King traffic light in front of the Jubilee House.

In trying to apprehend them, the rider escaped, but the pillion rider, the complainant, was arrested.

The prosecution said the two police officers subjected the complainant to severe beatings and handcuffed him.

They forcefully transferred GH¢3,700 from the complainant’s phone to a mobile phone number with the name Hope Alovordzi and then took GH¢120 from him.

The prosecution said the complainant reported the matter to the Police at Cantonments for investigations, and then to the Criminal Investigations Department, Headquarters for further investigation.

The accused were apprehended on August 8, 2024, and during interrogation, they admitted to arresting the complainant on July 21, 2024, but denied robbing him of the sum stated on the charge sheet.

 

Source: GNA

Don’t be blinded by love; protect your private property in marriage – Court of Appeal Judge

A judge at the Court of Appeal, Justice Alexander Osei Tutu has advised individuals preparing for marriage to protect their private property interests.

Speaking on JoyNews’ The Law, Justice Tutu warned that couples often overlook the potential consequences of property ownership and distribution due to the excitement and emotions involved in marriage preparations.

“It’s a normal thing for people to overlook the consequences when they are preparing to marry because, at that stage, they will be blinded by the love,” he noted.

Justice Tutu emphasised that marriage is not solely a spiritual union but also involves significant social and legal implications.

As such, he advised that couples must be aware of the potential outcomes related to property acquisition and distribution in the event of divorce or the death of a spouse.

Justice Tutu highlighted the importance of understanding the legal ramifications of property ownership within marriage.

He urged soon-to-be-married couples to educate themselves on how their assets would be handled in case the marriage ends or one partner passes away.

“It’s very necessary for would-be couples to know the consequences about their properties when it comes to divorce or maybe death,” he stated.

Justice Tutu will be one of the speakers at the much anticipated Marriage Governance Conference 2024, which is being organised by MarryRight Ghana Limited.

He will be speaking on the topic ‘How Do You Protect Your Private Property In Marriage’.

The event will come off on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, at the British Council from 9 am to 3 pm.

18 Teachers to be investigated for increasing their Salary by Promoting Themselves

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has directed the Ghana Education Service (GES) to investigate 18 teachers who promoted themselves in Amansie Central without recourse to the laws governing the GES.

A report from the Amansie Central Education Directorate indicated that the teachers upgraded themselves without the requisite documents and increased their salaries, resulting in a financial loss of GH¢188,000 to the state.

For more Updates Click Public Sector Salary Updates 

More Updates on Auditing

ADDRESSING GES STAFF SALARY-RELATED ISSUES

Management of Ghana Education Service, as part of its mandate of seeing to the welfare of its staff. is by this letter reassuring all staff of its commitment in addressing all outstanding salary-related issues.

We appreciate and relate with the plight of our affected staff due to the upsurge of salary-related issues and their adverse effects on productivity.

In our quest to resolve these issues. Management, in collaboration with Controller and Accountant- General’s Department (CAGD), has set up strong Technical Working Team to expeditiously resolve all the outstanding issues relating to Salary Re-activations, Responsibility Allowances, Salaries of New Entrants, among others.

Management is assuring all affected staff that the Team is frantically working to address, if not all, most of the outstanding salary-related issues by the end of August and September, 2024.

We are grateful to our staff for their continued commitment and hard work.

STEPHEN KWAKU OWUSU DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL(MS) For: DIRECTOR-GENERAL

 

PUBLIC SECTOR Salary updates 

Police shoots 25 years man dead after disagreement over fares

Constable Smith Gyekyi voluntarily surrendered to the police in Amasaman, where he was detained, and his service pistol was confiscated for further investigations

A man has been shot dead by a police officer at the frontage of Koans Estate in Kuntunse Satellite, near Adjen Kotoku in Accra on Sunday (18 August).

The victim, identified as 25-year-old Stanley Ahadzi, was found lying in a supine position with multiple gunshot wounds and blood covering his body.

The incident occurred around 3:00 AM when Constable Smith Gyekyi, a police officer with the International Relations Directorate (IRD), was operating a commercial Matiz vehicle, registered GW 6459-21.

He had picked up a passenger, Esther Owusua, from Ablekuma Joma, who was headed to the Koans Estate area. However, upon reaching the estate, Owusua lost her way and called the deceased, Ahadzi, for assistance.

When Ahadzi arrived at the estate gate, a disagreement reportedly ensued over the fare charged by Constable Gyekyi. The argument quickly escalated, leading to Constable Gyekyi allegedly pulling out his sidearm and shooting Ahadzi without provocation.

Crime scene investigators were deployed to oversee the situation after a distress call.

The body of Stanley Ahadzi was transported to the Police Hospital morgue for preservation, pending an autopsy.

Meanwhile, Constable Smith Gyekyi voluntarily surrendered to the police in Amasaman, where he was detained, and his service pistol was confiscated for further investigations.

Source; asaaseradio.com

Teachers to receive incentives to buy one vehicle ; Key Highlights from NPP’s 2024 Manifesto Dr Bawumia

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has announced an exciting development for teachers as part of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) 2024 election manifesto. In a bid to improve the welfare of educators across the country, the NPP has promised to provide incentives that will enable each teacher to purchase a vehicle with an engine capacity of up to 1,800 cubic centimeters (cc).

Key Educational Highlights:

• Recruitment of More Special Needs Teachers: The NPP is committed to recruiting more special needs teachers across all levels, ensuring that every student receives the attention and support they need.
• Expansion of Educational Opportunities: To address the housing deficit in public universities and other tertiary institutions, the manifesto includes plans to increase the stock of student accommodation, making it more affordable and accessible.
• Free Tertiary Education Scholarship for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs): This initiative aims to remove financial barriers for PWDs, allowing them to pursue their educational goals without the burden of tuition fees.
• Scholarships and Student Loan Scheme: The NPP plans to:
  • Integrate scholarship databases across all public sector institutions to ensure transparency.
  • Expand eligibility for the Student Loan Scheme to include all post-secondary students, including those in certificate and diploma programs.
  • Prioritize national scholarship schemes towards training and skills development in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
• Centralised Applications Processing Service (CAPS): The full implementation of CAPS will streamline the application process for tertiary institutions, allowing students to apply and pay just once.
• Open University: The manifesto also promises the establishment of an Open University, expanding access to higher education for all.
• Exemption from National Service: Graduates who secure jobs after completing their tertiary education may be exempted from national service, providing them with a smoother transition into the workforce.
• Free SHS/TVET Protection: The NPP remains committed to protecting and enhancing the Free Senior High School (SHS) and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programs, which have already transformed the lives of millions:
  • Enrollment in SHS/TVET has increased by 83% since the inception of the free programs.
  • Gender parity has been achieved, with more girls gaining access to secondary education, positively impacting society.
• Infrastructure Development: To accommodate the increased student population, the NPP plans to continue developing additional infrastructure for educational institutions.

Access full file

2024 NPP Manifesto_Highlights

Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Education Committee, Dr Clement Abas Apaak, has condemned the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission’s (GTEC) approach to resolving the Colleges of Education Teachers’ Association of Ghana’s (CETAG) two-month impasse.

According to him, GTEC should have been finding solutions to the strike rather than suggesting that they would employ more tutors.

As such, he condemned the government for taking such a step rather than negotiating with the teachers’ association.

“I think that this move is a very bad move, it ought to be withdrawn. Government must shower the needed resources to meet its obligation to the teachers and let them go back and teach,” he said on Joy FM’s Top Story on August 16.

He argued that even the decision to employ more teachers was bad because there is no budgetary allocation for employing more people.

“We know that we passed the 2024 budget, we have also seen the minister for Finance come with the Mid-year review budget, there are no allocations or estimations to cater for the recruitment of 2500 lecturers. This can not happen within the next two to three months. I can tell you that on authority.

“I am a lecturer. I have gone through the processes. The process itself of recruiting lecturers, it is not something you can do within two weeks or even a month. Clearly it is not feasible,” .

 

Early on Friday, GTEC said it has paid the top-up of the research allowance for 44 of the 46 Colleges of Education, except for McCoy and Dambai, which have some technical issues to be resolved.

The Commission also said it was currently in talks with “the Honourable Minister of Education for financial clearance to be granted to GTEC to recruit some two thousand five hundred (2500) teaching staff to augment the current load for academic work to commence as quickly as possible while we work with CETAG to resolve their concerns.”

But Dr Apaak stressed that this was a bad decision since GTEC, by its letter, is inferring that it was replacing CETAG. He argued that it was a misplaced priority.

Background

On June 14, teachers in various colleges of education laid down their tools, demanding better working conditions and remuneration packages.

Read also: CETAG declares indefinite strike; 46 public colleges to suffer

This action was a response to the government’s delay in implementing the National Labour Commission’s (NLC) Arbitral Award Orders and negotiated service conditions.

source;myjoyonline.com

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