STATEMENT: Unpaid Teachers to storm Finance Ministry with eggs & schnapps

• Posted on July 4, 2016
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

A group calling itself the Victims of Three months’ Salary Arrears Payment Policy (V3MAPP) has threatened to invoke curses on personnel of the Controller and Accountant Generals Department (CAGD) for their failure to expedite action in the release of their salary arrears.

“Teachers have threatened to come along with eggs and schnapps to invoke curses on any sycophant sitting on our monies”, they threatened in a press statement signed by Secretary of the group Owusu Baffoe Daniel.

The group further vowed to picket at the Ministry of Finance on July 4, 2016, to demand their arrears from the government which seems indifferent to their plight.

Below is a copy of the group’s Grievances as contained in release.

WE ARE DISSATISFIED WITH GOVERNMENT’S REFUSAL TO PAY OUR ARREARS BY JUNE ENDING WHILST OUR TEACHER UNIONS LOOK UNCONCERNED

These repeated disappointments over unpaid salary arrears due us, which has remained outstanding for almost three years despite several unfruitful attempts to address it, is becoming too cancerous.

There is no avenue we have not used to pour out our innocent tears, sweat and blood to pursue justice. Among these avenues are petitioning relevant state institutions, civil organizations, religious groups, releasing several of press statements, granting more than enough media interviews, embarking on demonstrations, and what have you, all to ensure that freedom and Justice are being upheld.

We are tempted to say that Government’s posture towards us over the years has consistently remained careless and unfair. We are surprised about how this government upon all the “Accounting to the people tour” is unable to render proper accounts to the people who are shaping the future of our next generation.

We were asked to produce our documents in 2013, we obliged, in 2014, 2015 and 2016 we did same. But we are shocked about why someone’s negligence and ineptness which is fueling our woes has not been condemned and apprehended by our teacher unions.

The propaganda and the unfair treatment towards us which mechanized in January was undoubtedly orchestrated by our teacher unions in unison with government’s stance, “Let us give them the benefit of the doubt” as they keep saying, since January 2016 to June 2016 and still counting.

The situation as it is has rendered about 22 teachers dead, 43 teachers bed-ridden, more than 100 teachers deferring their distance courses prematurely, about 500 teachers ejected from their houses, with several others threatening suicide and a lot more being subjected to heartbreaking and BP-rising encounters.

As a result of this wickedness 1000s are living on meager salaries as huge loans with high-interest rates haunts them as an albatross, yielding to the advantage of this teacher (Cheaters) unions, as their deliberate muteness is the cause of the woes of teachers which leaves them with no option than to take loans and also help them make huge sell off their goods at their various malls to teachers.

Our patience has run out, we are more than angry, we those alive will not sit unconcerned and die out of hunger. As a matter of fact, teachers who have been ejected from their various rooms are coming with their mattresses, the rest who are being chased out of class by their creditors too are coming along with mosquito coils and repellents. We are picketing at Ministry of Finance until we are paid whether it rains or shines.

We have all decided to validate the sitting president very well come November 7th to unturn our decisions as teachers which saw this government into power.

Our picketing at MoF is coming off this Monday, 4th July 2016

We were unable to calm down some teachers have threatened to come along with eggs and schnapps to invoke curses on any sycophant sitting on our monies.

Owusu Baffoe Daniel

(Secretary)