President John Dramani Mahama has appealed to the aggrieved public sector workers to exercise restraint since government’s failure to meet their demands is not deliberate.
[contextly_sidebar id=”JCV4DFkcZT1WKVllbfH1SPJnaVP3hweC”]He blamed governments shortfall in meeting their demands on the current economic crisis and growing pressure on the nation’s budget.
Various public sector workers mostly in the health and educational sectors have been hounding government for their unpaid salaries, allowances and better working conditions.
But President Mahama who was speaking at a meeting with the Ghanaian community in Qatar in Doha last Monday said, “I know workers’ demands may be legitimate, but the reality is that the money is not there. Half of the money we get from taxes is going into paying the 600,000 public sector workers and there is a limit to what the government can do.”
He insisted that the current economic crisis facing the country is not the creation of his government but assured that efforts are being made both internally and with support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a possible way out.
He said negotiations for a programme with the International Monetary Fund ( IMF) is on course.
He was optimistic that 2015 will be a major turning point year for Ghana.
“2015 is a pivotal year,” he said, explaining that inflation would go down and the economy would gain ground.
Currently, government is battling with some 12 labour unions in court over their pension contributions which they argue should be transferred into privately managed schemes.
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By: Godwin Allotey Akweiteh/citifmonline.com/Ghana (With files from Graphic)