Organised Labour has called on the Government of Ghana to abandon what it described as the IMF-sponsored neoliberal economic framework, which it said had undermined the development of the nation.
Organised Labour made this known in a speech delivered on its behalf by the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr Kofi Asamoah, at the Independence Square, where thousands of Ghanaians workers gathered Thursday to celebrate May Day.
Organsied Labour comprises the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG), Industrial and Commercial Service Union (ICU) and Judicial Services Staff Assiociation of Ghana (JUSAG).
Addressing the gathering ahead of the annual workers’ parade, Mr Asamoah bemoaned what he described as the poor state of the country’s economy.
“The economy is not in its best form,” he said, noting that this gloomy situation was aptly reflected in the theme for the occasion – Ghana’s Economy: A Concern for All.
“Those of us in Organised Labour have stated that Ghana’s economy has been seriously weakened and failing. The economy is not working for the majority of Ghanaians,” he added.
Economic hardships
Mr Asamoah said one did not need to be a Nobel laureate in economics to see that times were hard for ordinary Ghanaians.
He said some “harsh” economic policies of the government had exacerbated the hardships many Ghanaians have had to endure:
“The very harsh measures that have been implemented recently including increased VAT, increase in utility tariffs and fuel prices and the exchange controls are themselves enough pointers to the harsh realities that face Ghanaians.
“The increasing inflation is a reflection of the high and ever increasing cost of living Ghanaians have had to endure.”
The TUC Boss warned that this was not the time for government officials to adopt a “hawkish” posture in relation to the state of the economy nor was it the time for them to “descend on” individuals and institutions who point out the weakness of the economy.
“It will serve no good to remain in a state of denial,” he said, stressing the urgent need for government to address what he called the “flaws in the fundamentals of our economic policies”.
Paradigm shift
According to Mr Asamoah, there ought to be a “paradigm shift” away from Ghana’s current “ultra-market and neoliberal economic policies” to policies that “place Ghanaians and their welfare at the centre of economic policies”.
This, he said, had become necessary following the failure of the free market system to transform Ghana into a modern industrial nation.
Mr Asamoah noted that though Ghana was statistically a lower middle income country, the country still had the characteristics of a low income country.
This, he said, was exemplified by poor infrastructure, rudimentary technology, low productivity employment in agriculture and farming that characterise Ghana’s economy.
“The social indicators are not good either. Many citizens including those in farming cannot meet food needs. Illiteracy and ignorance continue to be high. Quality of education is falling. Access to sanitation, housing, safe drinking water, and affordable healthcare is poor for a significant proportion of our country men and women,” he added.
IMF framework
According to the TUC General-Secretary, Ghana would not develop unless it ridded itself of IMF economic advice and framework, which he said had engendered high and low profile corruption in the country.
Mr Asamoah said: “The IMF sponsored neoliberal economic policy framework will never work at this stage of our economic development. It is our view that development cannot be achieved through market fundamentalism being professed by the IMF.
“Organised labour believes that overcoming our development challenges requires a skillful interplay of both the visible hand of government and the invisible hand of the market.
“In the last 30 years we have unleased market forces and only succeeded in weakening the institutions of the state.
He called on the government to implement relevant rules and regulations to address market failures, and strengthen state institutions to lead Ghana’s economic development.
“We need to recue all state institutions and place the state at the forefront of economic development,” he emphasised.
Organised Labour also cautioned the government against signing the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in its current form.
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