According to him, the taxes have been incorporated into government’s revenue projections for the year and any attempt to scrap any of them could spell doom for the current revenue structure.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday, Mr. Tampuli however added that government is putting in place measures to alleviate the plight of petroleum consumers.

[contextly_sidebar id=”8ZxnyvwNnU8qUizzoKuNnq73qPxqJnEM”]“You would agree with me that government has some obligations and these obligations are based on the projected revenue and the revenues that we have accrued. These revenues include the price stabilization and recovery levy. Now that lots of revenue for the government.”

“If you are saying that we should remove completely the Special Petroleum Tax, price stabilization levy among others, then you are just asking for the collapse of the revenue as far as government projects are concerned. What government is doing is in a way responding to the needs and concerns of the Ghanaian people by reducing the price figure by 3%,” he added.

COPEC, ICU demo

The NPA CEO’s made the remark after a demonstration in Accra, organized by the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) in collaboration with the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU), seeking to force the government to reduce taxes on petroleum products.

Currently, a litre of both petrol and diesel goes for GHc4.62 at some major fuel stations.

This is despite assurances from the NPA that prices will remain fairly stable at the pumps.

The NPP government while in opposition also promised to scrap some taxes on petroleum taxes it described as “nuisance” taxes.

But one year after assuming office, there has been pressure on the  NPP government to honour its promises after it reviewed only a few of the taxes instead of scrapping them completely.

Response to COPEC, ICU demonstration

Responding to concerns raised by the demonstrators, Mr. Tampuli said “government is not interested in seeing that the people of Ghana go through some hardship,” hence his call that they should exercise patience.

“Whatever it is that we do, we give cushion to the Ghanaian consumers…The Minister for Energy has said it several times that government is considering different options aimed at dealing with this situation. So they should be rest assured, they have every right to demonstrate but we are saying that the reason for the demonstration is not as tenable as they want us to believe especially when the prices could have gone way higher than it has but for the intervention of government and there are records there to show,” Mr. Tampuli added.

Click below for Hassan Tampuli’s interview on the Citi Breakfast Show: 

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Scrapping fuel taxes will ‘collapse’ Govt’s revenue structure – NPA appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Health Insurance Authority has announced plans to increase the health insurance scheme levy by 1 percent, moving it from 2.5 to 3.5 percent.

[contextly_sidebar id=”qd8A2xmkiUQuJ6aiId3uI06d6vRAEIWb”]However, the General Secretary of the [ICU], Solomon Kotei, in suggesting other viable revenue generation strategies for the NHIA, indicated that, the Authority should block loopholes in their system instead of raising levies.

Highlighting some challenges hampering the NHIA’s efforts at increasing revenue, Mr. Kotei said: “There has been a lot of malfeasance going on at the NHIA, and it’s not been made known to us through investigation. We were informed that a lot of people ran away to some countries. Have they retrieved those monies or it is gone for good? We have people who are benefiting from the NHIA who don’t contribute anything to it. I am referring to people from Cote D’lvoire, Togo, Nigeria and India.”

Mr. Kotei believes NHIA’s revenue generation will also improve if people in the informal sector are made to pay for services the Authority offers them.

“The typical informal sector is also not contributing anything .What are they doing to get them to also contribute to their own health? I am not saying they should pay the amount that we are paying, but once they are beneficiaries they should also contribute something to it,” he explained.

This is not the NHIA’s first attempt at increasing the levy. In September 2017, the NHIA indicated that, it had made a proposal to the government to levy tobacco and alcohol to fund the scheme.

The Authority had explained that, the proposal was one of the options of finding additional sources of funding to sustain the policy, since the 2.5 percent NHIS levy collected under the Value Added Tax (VAT), and the 2.5 percentage Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contributions appear to be adequate.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post ICU to petition Parliament to stop NHIS levy increase appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This is the indication from the NLC as it hopes that its new Commission would have been formed by then.

Citi Business News has been speaking to some analysts who believe a further delay will adversely impact labour front.

Information available to Citi Business News indicates that the tenure of the past Commission ended in October last year.

The Commission is among others expected to adjudicate all labour cases brought before it by affected parties.

Per the regulations guiding its operations, the Commission cannot sit on any case if it falls short of its seven member composition.

The General Secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU), Solomon Kotei in an earlier interview lamented the backlog of activities due to the non existence of a Commission.

“Labour, employers have been able to send their proposed commissioners but nothing has happened as of now. So from last year till date, it is only reconciliatory works that is being done at the Commission. There are neither the usual mediators nor arbitrators on their job and this is not very healthy because there is pile up,” he stated.

The Executive Secretary of the NLC, Vincent Ofosu Asamoah couldn’t agree more.

He narrated the increased work schedules as his outfit awaits the approval of its nomination from the Presidency.

“We used to have a backlog of cases but we are dealing with them…that is what we want to look at and if there had been delays in the past, we wouldn’t want that to be repeated in 2018.”

Labour Analyst Austin Gammey also believes the continuous delay may not augur well for anticipated labour issues in the interim though he admits to some alternative resolution mechanisms.

He therefore urged that the process is expedited to get all representatives at work.

“The Secretariat is doing their best but I think that the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations may have to bring this to the attention of the Presidential staffers especially the Chief of Staff so that they can arrange for the President to commission them into office,” he stated.

Meanwhile the Executive Secretary for the NLC, Ofosu Asamoah is optimistic the Commission should be operating by the end of this month barring any unforeseen circumstances.

“We should be getting the commission set any moment from now; it was my expectation that this has been completed by now. When it comes to the nomination of government’s representatives, the President refers the nomination to the Council of State for advice and that is where I think has led to the delays. But I do not see why we should be looking at end of January and beyond,” he assured.

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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana

The post NLC to get new Commission by February 2018 appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the ICU, the situation has resulted in the piling of cases at the NLC.

The issue is also cited to have partly accounted for the unresolved labour issues currently before the NLC.

The General Secretary of the ICU, Solomon Kotei explains to Citi Business News that a further delay will have dire consequence for labour going forward.

His comments come in as part of assessment of the one year in office of the NPP led by President Akufo Addo.

“Labour, employers have been able to send their proposed commissioners but nothing has happened as of now. So from last year till date, it is only reconciliatory works that is being done at the Commission. There are neither the usual mediators nor arbitrators on their job and this is not very healthy because there is pile up,” he stated.

The mandate of the existing Commission expired at the latter part of 2017.

This therefore warranted the establishment of a new team to carry out the mandate.

Per law, the Commission at the NLC is expected to intervene in all labour cases brought before the NLC for redress.

Mr. Kotei further expressed worry over the lack of a decentralized system in the administration of the NLC.

He argues that the persistent nature of the system have also increased the workload of the NLC in Accra hence adding to the already burdened situation of cases to be resolved.

“We have also explained that because the NLC has only one office and the work has to be done by the nine Commissioners and the decision of the court is that until all the Commissioners sit, no judgement or decision could be made from the National Labour Commission. This has also resulted in the piling up of cases.”

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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana

The post ICU bemoans delay in forming new NLC commission appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

They believe the move should also reduce the overdependence on imports with an increased production level.

The Economists have however suggested some key steps to be taken for government to achieve this aim by the end of the year.

According to the Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta, at least 100,000 jobs are expected to be created from the Nation Builders’ Corps which is part of the numerous initiatives to be rolled out under the Akufo-Addo Programme for Economic Transformation (AAPET).

In addition, the NPP government is aiming at deepening the growth of Ghana’s private sector to be able to absorb the majority of the unemployed.

Although Economist Adu Owusu Sarkodie couldn’t agree more, he has advocated proper statistics to assess the efficiency of these initiatives.

“I think that once we have a full knowledge about this and appreciate what is going on, the government should come out and tell us how many Ghanaians are unemployed, how many are graduates or have SHS certificate, how many unemployed men or women there are or those below the age of 35 among others, so that we can really appreciate your efforts,” he stated.

But citing the allocation of significant portions of tax revenue to the resettling of accumulated debts and salary payment, Economist Professor Godfred Bokpin says it will be tough for the government in meeting the target in the interim.

“The best way to judge government’s good intention is to look at the allocation function. Where they are putting their money is what tells you what they value most. So if you look at the tax revenue, it is just going into two line items; debt servicing and wages and salaries, there’s little left to do these many other things so that is the challenge that we have.”

The Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) will be least satisfied unless the government convinces it that the jobs will provide meaningful and sustainable livelihoods to beneficiaries.

Arguing the Union’s position, the General Secretary Solomon Kotei maintained that government comes clear on the types of employment creation.

“What types of jobs because we in labour believe in decent jobs; jobs that give you the employee a good future. But these things are not too clear from the government as of now. it’s only been statements that they are going to be creating jobs but which areas these are going to come from, we are yet to know.”

It is estimated that creating jobs will mean that Ghana should be reducing the burden where majority of graduates will spend at least ten years before securing meaningful jobs.

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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana

The post Analysts demand clear job creation plans appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the ICU, this will ensure that employers are able to sustain jobs and also absorb some of the teeming unemployed youth in the country.

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta during the 2018 budget presentation, announced that government is targeting a medium term (2018-2021) inflation rate of 8±2 percent, lower than the 11.2 percent targeted for 2017.

Speaking to Citi Business News, the General Secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU), Solomon Kotei said government needs to fulfill its promises including that of reducing inflation in 2018, since it had the whole of 2017 to plan and project.

“We see 2018 as a year that should come with fulfillment of governments’ promises. Inflation should remain where it is or better yet continue going down. This will make it possible for businesses to sustain jobs and employ more,” he stated.

Figures from the Ghana Statistical Service indicate that inflation has been on the decline since September 2016.

The figure has fallen from 17.2 percent in September 2016 to 11.7 percent as at November 2017.

The declining inflation trends come on the back of stable electricity supply coupled with tight policy stance, which has also largely accounted for the sustained stability in the local currency.

As part of projections for the 2018 fiscal year, the government has projected an average inflation rate of 9.8 percent and end year inflation of 8.9 percent for 2018.

In line with the medium-term policy objectives of the government, monetary policy is expected to continue to provide an anchor for inflation expectations and steer inflation towards the medium term target band of 8 ±2 percent.

While achieving this target can encourage savings and investments-as returns on investments are preserved, provision of a stable and reliable electricity supply, continuous stability of the Ghana cedi among others will be key.

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By: Bobbie Osei/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana

The post ICU pushes for low inflation to sustain jobs appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Staff of the Corporation embarked on a demonstration on Monday in protest of their working conditions, and also prevented their management from entering their offices.

The workers among other things demanded an increment in their salaries arguing that they have been denied such increases for the past five years.

Further to these demands, they also called for the immediate removal of the Managing Director of the Corporation, Carol Annang, over what they describe as her poor managerial skills.

They also accused her of reneging on her promise of revamping the institution.

Demo in right direction

Speaking to Citi News, the General Secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union, Solomon Kotei, in solidarity with the aggrieved workers said the demonstration is in the right direction.

He explained that what triggered the protest is that “last year  [2017] when we came to negotiate [salaries and allowances], management were pleading and telling us all stories and an unprecedented move, [the] workers to management to give them just three percent of their salaries.”

“With this pinch of insult we didn’t even collect a back pay, and we took that hoping that this year, things will organize for us. Then from nowhere we were told of a rebranding of the paper. We thought it will bring some efficiency and profitability to this particular arrangement only for us to surrender to our main competitor.  And as our main competitor to do the printing for us and on a daily basis we don’t pay less than GH17,300, and how much are we making at Times.”

Give us 20%

Mr. Kotei said all they are saying is that “…we are sacrificing every other item on our condition of service; let’s only look at the salary that has been in arrears for many years. This has not been done and once we are asking that give us 20% and let’s live on.”

“Someone will ask 20% of what? Our basic pay is among the lowest we can find in this country. And besides this, people resign and their end of service benefits are not been paid to them. People die and their next of kins are walking here up and down and nothing is being done to them. But yet they find themselves the effrontery to buy themselves vehicles and give themselves over 11 allowances that are paid in the midst of this crisis,” he added.

ICU to engage Labour Ministry

Mr. Kotei however assured that the grievances of the workers will be tabled before the sector Minister for immediate action.

“The issues that we have at hand are such that we will catalogue the issues and take them to the sector Minister as it stands now. We are not putting ourselves before the Labour Commission because we know the structures of this particular enterprise. We will now sit down and allow one person to see the demise of this great institution. What we see as the mismanagement is for us to have a big company like Times and we have only two products. Besides, the Times and Spectator nothing is there for us again,” he added.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post ICU backs Ghanaian Times workers’ protest appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the General Secretary of ICU, Solomon Kotei, it was time the “over time tax” which workers consider as a nuisance tax, was waived to lessen the burden on workers.

[contextly_sidebar id=”OggSWLsXeeIJ5jmauKnHgEvaXlVZaeoO”]Mr Kotei made the call at the official opening of the 10th Quadrennial Delegates Conference of the Union in Kumasi which was under the theme, “Our Employers’ Vision, our concern.”

“We want the President to consider directing the tax authorities to waive the ‘over time tax’ as it is serving as a greater disincentive for workers to perform over time work to meet the production targets of our employers,” he stressed.

Mr Kotei noted the waiving of other nuisance taxes earlier this year by the government was laudable, but Ghanaian workers would be much grateful if the overtime tax is also waived.

He also appealed to the government to ensure continuous supply of electricity and water to promote industrialisation as promised by the New Patriotic Party during the 2016 election campaign, because industries were affected by power crisis resulting in the laying off of some workers.

Mr Kotei advised union members to collaborate with employers towards increasing productivity. He expressed worry at increasing job losses as a result of automation in some organizations and urged employers to ensure a balance in the use of technology and human resource.

The Minister of Employment and Labor Relations, Ignatius Baffour Awuah, gave the assurance that government would liaise with labour unions to solve problems of workers.

He said “we will continue to respect labour and see you as equal partners in determining the future of this nation”, and pledged to engage cabinet on the issue of “over time tax.”

Mr Baffour Awuah said that the Ministry was working towards the passage of an “Occupational, Health and Safety Bill, which will seek to tax employers who may engage personnel and make them responsible for their health and safety at the work place,” Mr Baffour Awuah revealed.

He, however, appealed to ICU to amicably solve the long standing problem with the Ghana Trades Union Congress as they were all fighting for one course, which is the welfare of the Ghanaian workers.

Source: Ghanaian Times

The post Withdraw ‘overtime time tax’ now – Workers to Akufo-Addo appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The President Akufo Addo has appointed a new Executive Secretary of the NLC, Mr. Ofosu Asamoah.

He replaces Mr. Charles Adongo Bawa Duah who was appointed by former President John Mahama in 2016.

But the ICU contends that the process of replacing Mr. Charles Bawa Duah with Mr. Ofosu Asamoah without recourse to laid down procedure is likely to impact negatively on labour issues.

According to the General Secretary of the ICU, Solomon Kotei, the selection of the Executive Secretary must be conducted in a transparent manner so as not to infringe on the rights of all stakeholders.

“This is the right for the Public Services Commission; the Commissioners are also appointed by the tripartite committee comprising government, labour and employers association…if with the Executive powers of the President they want to come and usurp the power of the Public Services Commission, what we are advising is that the position should be vacant then they can do that,” he remarked.

Mr. Kotei added,“Even so, that person must go through the right procedure and that is what we are saying.”

Meanwhile the ICU has served notice it will intensify their pressure should their appeals go unattended to.

The General Secretary of the Union would not readily disclose the plan of action than to mention of consensus among the various labour fronts.

“The momentum is gathering; organised labour is putting itself together and probably a stronger position and voice may be heard than what ICU has done,” he asserted.

Mr. Charles Adongo Bawa Duah assumed office after Dr. Bernice Welbeck who served as Acting Executive Secretary of the NLC for about three years.

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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana

The post ICU pressurizes gov’t over new NLC boss’ appointment appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the union, the effect of the menace is threatening the work of some of its members especially those in cocoa growing regions.

[contextly_sidebar id=”xLiE2WrY36H09ZA5WhZMgl2CG9oQhPfK”]The ICU in the past few years flooded May Day celebrations with placards which had inscriptions voicing out several concerns of its workers.

But this year’s celebration of May Day in Takoradi saw only two messages written on their banner; “Stop Galamsey to maintain our cocoa farms” and “Stop Galamsey and preserve our water bodies.”

Speaking to Citi News, the Regional Industrial Relations Officer of the ICU, Ebenezer Osei Assibey, explained that “we brought only two placards this year. If cocoa is being cut off and galamsey is taking its place, it means that our workers will lose their work in the cocoa industry, cocoa farmers themselves will be out of the stream, the workers and their families, that is a chunk of people who are going to be affected.”

Mr. Asibey, who is known for speaking out the concerns of labour without fear or favor, continued that, “we are in support of the fight ongoing against galamsey because all our water bodies are been polluted. If our workers drink this contaminated water, it is going to bring a lot of hospital bills to our members and to Ghana as a whole. We are much concerned about Galamsey as workers”.

There has been an ongoing campaign against small scale mining of all forms across the country led by Citi FM, other media organisations and civil society.

Government has responded positively to the campaign by taking action against all forms of small scale mining across the country.

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By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post ICU joins the fight against galamsey appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.