By Iddi Yire
Accra, Feb 19, GNA – The Government has appealed to the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG) to rescind its decision to embark on strike over the appointment of Mr Samuel Adom Botchwey, as Births and Deaths Registrar.
Mr Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Presidential Spokesman and Minister of State in-charge of Government Communications, made the appeal on Wednesday at a press conference at the seat of Government in Accra.
He said CLOGSAG’s demand that Mr Botchwey be removed from office because he was not a civil servant and that he was a politically exposed person had no legal basis.
“CLOGSAG, however, in spite of their demands, have not been able to indicate which legal basis informs their demand,” he said.
He said the Government had enormous respect for organised labour, including CLOGSAG, and was willing to engage, to dialogue, and find amicable solutions to any pressing disputes that might arise.
He said the Government was also very much committed to enhancing the welfare of Ghanaian workers.
“We are committed to ensuring that the work environment for Ghanaian workers is enhanced, is improved, and is run in a patient-friendly manner,” Mr Ofosu said.
“That said, we also welcome suggestions and opinions from Ghanaian workers through their labour organisations on how we can further improve our governance processes.”
He said, however, it must be pointed out that every Government action must be based on law.
“That is all of us, as Ghanaians, have a duty to carry ourselves and conduct our activities on the basis of the law.”
Mr Ofosu said when CLOGSAG made a specific demand for some actions to be taken in respect of appointments to certain government organisations, it must be based on law.
“So, you may ask where the law stands on all of this. We have engaged with CLOGSAG, we have made it known to them, and we believe that the President has acted in accordance with the law,” he said.
He said the Birth and Death Registry was an entity set up by law and governed by law.
He said the most recent law that governed the activities of that department was the Registration of Births and Deaths Act 2020, which is Act 1027.
He said the Act detailed how the activities of that organisation were to be conducted, and how the President must appoint a Registrar under Section 2 of Act 1027.
“The contention of CLOGSAG is that the Registrar’s position is a civil service position,” he said, adding that had to be backed by a specific provision of the law.
He said Section 2 of Act 1027, which deals with appointments of the Registrar of Births and Deaths; Section 2(1) says, the Registry shall have a Registrar of Births and Deaths, whereas Section 2(2) says, the President shall, in accordance with Article 195 of the Constitution, appoint a registrar.
He said Article 195 gave the President power to make appointments, and that in some instances, allowed him to delegate that power to other entities in the people’s organisations.
He said in a specific instance of the Birth and Death Registry, the law governing the operations of that entity spelt out clearly who should make the appointments, which was the President.
He said President John Dramani Mahama had acted in accordance with the 1992 Constitution.
Section 2(3) of Act 1027 says, the President shall, in appointing the person as the Registrar, have regard to the relevant academic qualification, experience and knowledge of that person in civil registration, adding that the registrar shall hold office for the terms and conditions specified in the letter of appointment.
“So, the criteria for that appointment are clearly spelled out in Section 2 of this Act.
CLOGSAG has not questioned the competence of the current occupant of the position of Registrar. They only say that he is politically exposed,” he said.
He said there was no law, which says the occupant of the position of the Registrar of Births and Deaths, had to be a civil servant.
He said Botchwey was a highly experienced official, who in the past, had served as a District Chief Executive under the late President John Evans Atta Mills’ administration, adding that he had many years of public service experience.
Mr Ofosu said whilst the Government respected its partners in organized labour and sought to dialogue on more relevant matters, in this particular instance, the President had acted in accordance with a law.
“And for that reason, there cannot be a reason why Mr Adom Botchwey should be removed only because he is not a civil servant,” he said.
The Minister reiterated that there was no provision that said the position must be held by civil servants.
“If it is a view of the CLOGSAG that, in the past, civil servants have occupied it, it does not mean that any other person, apart from civil servants, cannot occupy that position.”
He said they needed to act strictly in accordance with the law, even as they continued to engage in dialogue on how the country was governed.
“We are aware of similar agitations in the past against the appointee of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and we do know that the court case emanated from that particular engagement,” he said.
“As we speak, I am not aware that the court has determined another. So, until this law is revoked, or there is judicial pronouncement that says that this particular law is illegal…..”
He said the Government appreciated the fact that a strike was one of the mechanisms through which they could drive their demands to compel the Government to take a look at their grievances.
“In this particular instance, we do not believe that sufficient basis exists to go on strike because it would be unfair to the people of Ghana, who pay the wages of all public servants, including members of CLOGSAG Group, that on the basis of a leave which is not backed by law, they go on strike,” he said.
“I don’t think that they will be doing right to the people of Ghana.”
GNA
Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah
