Despite government assurances, the union is asking for more concrete commitments from the government, and Mr. Mutawakilu has asked the government to put its assurances in writing as oral assurances are not enough.

[contextly_sidebar id=”fD6WyB2Me8ISSY6kYutlmF25T8EAU2GQ”]”If you are assuring them of jobs, start now. Document it. If you are paying them their redundancy package, you agree now so that by next year [2018], everything is ready and if they decide to go, they already you know you are ready to do it [meet their demands],” the opposition National Democratic Congress MP told the media on Thursday.

“… but if you wait till September next year, when their fate is being determined without their input, that is not the best way to go. I believe that a year to the takeover, the workers should know their position.”

PUWU has expressed concerns that the workers will lose their jobs as part of the Power Compact under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Power Compact II programme, which cedes the ECG to a concessioner in September 2018.

The union has gone ahead to sue the ECG, the Attorney-General and the Millennium Development Authority over the dispute.

The government has expressed displeasure that they had been bypassed by PUWU,  whose leadership have rather resorted to the media to voice their concerns.

But the Mr. Mutawakilu said the government was to blame in the dispute as it had not done enough to engage the union.

Boakye Agyarko being stubborn

As at the time the Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko, announced the takeover, he hadn’t even met the workers union, which was just unfortunate,” the NDC MP noted.

Mr. Mutawakilu stressed that, as a minister, Mr. Agyarko “should rather be the one who should dialogue; who should negotiate; who should coordinate with workers to get a favorable solution to this and not take an entrenched stance. This [the dispute] is all because the minister has taken an entrenched stance, and the workers feel that they are not being respected.”

“I feel that the minister should take his time, have a dialogue with them, discuss with them so that mother Ghana moves forward. That is very critical.”

–

By: Duke Mensah Opoku & Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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There is a significant arms movement into the three northern regions, the Defence Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, has said.

Source: Graphic online

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The South Sudanese authorities intercepted arms, ammunition and other items in a container which was mistakenly labelled as construction materials by the United Nations (UN).

The four-member delegation, led by the Deputy Minister of Defence, Mr Ebenezer Okletey Teye Larbi, is tasked to hold meetings with the South Sudanese authorities and United Nations (UN) officials on the need to hand over the military equipment to the Ghanaian soldiers.

Other members of the delegation are the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Richard Opoku-Adusei, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence and Security, Mr Fritz Baffour, and the Forces Sergeant Major, Chief Warrant Officer Owusu Dickson.

The Minister of Defence, Mr Mark Woyongo, who made this known to the Daily Graphic, indicated that the UN shipped the container from Cote d’Ivoire to South Sudan in February this year.

He said the container was meant to be delivered to the military base of the Ghanaian soldiers in South Sudan but it was intercepted by South Sudanese officials.

He said following discussions between President John Mahama and his South Sudanese counterpart, Salva Kiir,the South Sudanese authorities agreed to release the container.

However, after scanning the container, the South Sudanese authorities found that it contained military equipment and subsequently decided not to give it out again.

The minister said following that decision, he called the South Sudanese Ambassador to Ghana last Thursday for a meeting on the issue.

He said it was the outcome of that meeting that a decision be taken to send the delegation to South Sudan to talk with the authorities there to seek the release of the equipment.

Safety of Ghanaian soldiers

There are currently 300 Ghanaian soldiers on a peacekeeping mission in South Sudan. The soldiers were earlier in Cote d’Ivoire before they were moved to South Sudan in February this year.

According to Mr Woyongo, Ghana would be sending an additional 550 soldiers to

South Sudan by the end of July this year to raise the number to 850 and form a battalion.

He said it was, therefore, important for the South Sudanese authorities to release the military equipment to the Ghanaian soldiers for them to protect themselves against attacks.

The minister said it was dangerous for the Ghanaian soldiers to carry out their peacekeeping operations without any equipment.

“We are concerned about the safety of our soldiers. We value their lives. We do not want them to be slaughtered.

We do not want to lose the lives of our soldiers. That is why we are sending the delegation,” he said.

South Sudan, officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in north eastern Africa.

It gained independence from The Sudan in 2011.

Source:  Daily Graphic

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According to him, the protection of the pipeline should be given the same priority as the maritime domain of the Gulf of Guinea because, the recent damage to the pipeline negatively affected countries that depended on it for gas, especially Ghana.

The West African Gas Pipeline in 2007 suffered a catastrophic loss of pressure as a result of damage by a ship’s anchor.

The incident occurred before the commissioning of the gas pipeline.

In August 2012 however, there was another damage to the pipeline by an unidentified ship.

Mr. Woyongo made the call at the West African Gas Pipeline Safety Workshop in Accra.

He noted that “this regional infrastructure when well managed and enhanced will play a major role in the economy of our country for many years to come.”

The Minister added that with ECOWAS aspiring to bridge the social and economic barriers within the sub-region, “this project is the most important catalyst that we should proudly protect and nurture.”

The Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah on his part called for a review of existing protection efforts and a drastic change in the way things are done to ensure a coordinated approach in addressing threats to the pipeline.

He called for concrete ideas to safeguard the integrity of the pipeline.

Mr. Buah mentioned a number of risks and threats that the WAGPL is exposed to including; piracy, unlawful fishing practices such as the use of explosives and sea bottom trolley.

In a speech read on his behalf, the sector Minister urged ECOWAS countries to forge ahead to ensure the maritime security of the pipeline and other infrastructure are protected.

By: Afiba Anyanzua Anyanzu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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