Good morning distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the press herein gathered. On behalf of my hardworking colleague teachers, I wish to welcome you all to this very important Press Conference and also to thank you all for your prompt response to our call. You cannot be wrong for coming here because the purpose of this gathering addresses critical concerns of teachers across the country.
Ladies and gentlemen, teachers as people who are the country’s gatekeepers, opening doors to opportunities and possibilities that are beyond the foreseeable horizon, it is the duty of our employer to provide for us all our working tools and as such laptops are of no exception.
It is therefore, non-negotiable for teachers to use their allowance or salary to procure teaching and learning aids. In the past regime, teachers were given laptops for free and why won’t the same be done under President Nana Addo led government?
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, our concerns are as follows;
*BLATANT DENIALS*
It will surprise you all to note that when we became curious about news to provide us with laptops and asked some of our National Council members questions concerning the transaction in order to get answers to things bothering our minds, they denied having knowledge about the said contract and agreement but surprisingly in the bogus Press Conference held yesterday by theleadership of the three (3) teacher Unions it came to light the said decision was taken at national council meeting.So, one will ask, why the denials? Indeed, there is no smoke without fire.
*NO PROPER INFORMATION TO MEMBERS*
Our leadership never informed the rank and file of any negotiation on these laptops. They were having negotiation with government on our blank side. The question is, is this how we conduct business within our Association? Definitely not but due to personal interest they decided to hide the whole deal from us.A clear sign of personal interests taking precedence over collective interests and welfare of members.
*BAD DEAL*
As teachers and very knowledgeable people for that matter, going for such a big contract of procuring 280,000 for teachers, will mean that the said company must have track record in the public domain as far as laptop productions are concerned. The laptops must be of a good brand that will last for a minimum of 10years. Like Lenovo, Dell, Toshiba etc. Surprisingly, KA Technologies has no such track record in that field. The name is strange to our ears.
Are the laptops certified? It is important for us to be guided by the past so as to make improvements for the better.
*WHO ARE THE OWNERS OF KA TECHNOLOGIES*?
We demand from the leadership of the teacher Unions to tell us about the owners of KA Technologies. Because, it has been alleged the said company belongs to our Union leaders.Equally, a search by our other sister unions have suggested that the company got registered just November, 2020
*ILLEGAL USE OF OUR TIER 2 MONEY TO PRE-FINANCE THE DEAL*
It is very disturbing knowing that our Pension money was withdrawn and given to the so called company. Again, out of greed and disrespect for members they did so without our consent.Which law permits them to act in such a dubious manner? Because according to the Labour Law Act 651, Section 69 and70 prohibits such unwarranted deductions. We would want to know, how much of monies were given to KA Technologies?
Who are they paying the interest on the money to? Is it to our Union leaders and the fund managers for them toshare? These questions are begging for answers.
*COST OF LAPTOP*
The cost of the laptop which is Ghc 1,550 including training, maintenance, technical support etc has become chameleon like.The inconsistent figures being bundled around raises serious issues of suspicion. It is now obvious the deal was just for chop chop. What have we done against our Union leaders to deserve such a wicked treatment from them aimed at milking the teachers?
*Professional Development Allowance*
We have been told the Professional Development Allowance was meant for teachers to attend workshops, publications etc in order to build points for renewal of license and promotion etc.Now that they have deducted chunk of this money used to procure laptops for us, we want to know what is the equivalence in terms of points that will accrue to each teacher?Again, how do we now pay for workshops and other trainings yet to be organized? In short, deducting the laptopmoney from the Professional Development Allowance an act of criminality.
*WHEN IS GOVERNMENT PAYING HER 70%*?The rush by government and its cohorts in implementing this program raises further questions than answers and we have no doubts in our minds that the government has something fishy up its
sleeves. Till now government hasn’t come out with any definite date or time frame to pay her partof this transaction. Is our pension money safe?
*RESIGNATION OF COUNCIL MEMBERS*
We call all our regional council members of GNAT who are part of the National council to resign honorably or face our wrath.
The leaders at the District levels should be ready to face impeachment processes that we will soon employ to remove them from office.
*BOYCOTT OF UPCOMING NATIONAL DELEGATES CONFERENCE*
We are using this medium to call on all Delegates to boycott the upcoming National Delegates conference or injunction placed on it with immediate effect until all issues surrounding this fraudulent transaction are resolved. Teachers deserve better!
*ANGEL CARBONU*
He has become very arrogant and an enemy to teachers in the country. His recent comment suggesting that the Professional Development Allowance is not meant for “Kelewele or Agbelikaklo” is considered witless and unfortunate statement coming from a Union leader who should know better.We will like to ask him, if the Professional Development Allowance was meant for the purchase of laptops?Is the pension money meant to be illegally used for financing companies?He should give us a break. He has become a hypocrite as a result of greed.
Ladies and gentlemen, in conclusion, we want to state that the deal is very fraudulent and that all deductions made should be refunded to us with immediate effect. We will not allow ourselves to be taken for granted by our Union leaders.
We are therefore, proposing to government to start paying us the *Professional Development Allowance* on monthly basis beginning January 2022.
Madam Philippa, Mr Thomas Musah, Mr Angel Carbonu and King Ali are the cause of our woesas teachers. We call on teachers across the country to join the fight against our Union leaders as demand for what is due us.
