Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress
Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has contended that the government has failed to acknowledge the plight of the citizenry amidst the current socio-economic challenges.
“The government has been quick to apportion undue blames for the current socio-economic crisis rather than noting the difficulties Ghanaians are facing and providing viable solutions,” he decried.
According to him, when the revolution happened in 1983, the conditions in the country were worse than today but former President Jerry Rawlings would stand on a Land Cruiser and be chewing roasted maize and how were you going to tell such a leader to give you pay rise?
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged citizens to make sacrifices as the government brainstorms to manage the socio-economic crisis since the government in its own way is making sacrifices such as a 30 per cent cut in salaries to help deal with the situation.
Speaking about the demand for a 20 per cent Cost of Living Allowance by labour unions in the country, Mr Nketia noted that “the late Mr Rawlings who was our president was buying roadside corn to eat, he was wearing overalls and standing on a hardbody Land Cruiser and was he the one you will go and ask to buy you a Mercedes Benz?”
He accused the government of failing to show leadership by example in the country which did not show the country was in a socio-economic crisis.
“Leadership by example must be key in fighting socioeconomic crisis but the leadership we are witnessing in this country does not show we are a country in economic crisis and when we complain, you are compared with the United Kingdom and the United States for suffering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia and Ukraine war and now if workers are demanding American standard wages, why are you crying?” Mr Nketia quizzed.
He said amidst the socioeconomic crisis, labour unions in the country had resorted to demands for 20 per cent Cost of Living Allowance and the demand from the labour unions was to help their members measure up to the rising cost of living brought about by socioeconomic hardships.