Without God And My People I Am Nothing, Prof. Gyampo Ransford Explains UTAG Strike Suspension Saga, I Cant Betrayal My People.
Dear All,
1. My attention has been drawn to some allegations driven by mere emotions that, my announcement of the National Executive Committee’s (NEC) decision to advise the temporal suspension of the UTAG strike, amounts to a betrayal of my people.
2. I state unambiguously that, without God and my people, I am nothing, and that, I cannot betray my people and the fight for better conditions of service for teachers. Some media houses and politicians unfortunately, have succeeded in making all of us propagandistic in our appreciation of issues. Hence we cherish half-truths, picking and choosing from posts.
3. In the release from me, communicating the decision of NEC to call off the strike, (which per the UTAG constitution and bye-laws, is merely advisory), I also pointed out the fact that the ordinary UTAG members will vote to accept or reject the decision as taken by NEC. It appears those who claim I may have betrayed my people, never read this part of my release or never understood what it meant.
4. NEC of UTAG comprises 60 representatives drawn from the UTAG leadership of the 15 public Universities in Ghana. In my release, I indicated clearly that NEC by a “majority decision” decided to suspend the strike. This should suggest to any inquiring mind that, not all NEC members supported this decision. But in communicating it to the public, it would be a display of immaturity to mention specifically, those who supported or opposed the decision at the NEC meeting.
5. I won’t repeat the reasons that informed the NEC decision. But I will make the point again that, per the UTAG constitutional arrangements and bye-laws, the members of UTAG have five days to vote to accept or to reject NEC’s decision. Should members vote to accept the NEC’s decision, the strike would be fully called off. But if members vote to reject the NEC’s decision, then the strike is not over until it is over. NEC, in the case of a vote of rejection from members, will have five more days to convene to announce the resumption of the strike.
6. As I write, the various campuses are voting and some have voted already. I have no mandate to announce publicly the outcome of voting on campuses where it has taken place.
7. At the several meetings held, government pleaded with UTAG to call off the strike and solemnly promised to negotiate a solution to the concerns of Lecturers. UTAG leadership never heeded to this call because they couldn’t trust such promises. The appeals have intensified through the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, Religious Leaders, Eminent Ghanaians like President Kufuor, Sam Jonah, etc.
8. Government may want to redeem and address its trust deficit among UTAG members, by quickly engaging UTAG leadership and tabling its proposals for meeting the demands of UTAG, now that the NEC has temporarily and theoretically suspended the strike. Otherwise, members are voting.
9. Once again, I state in unequivocal terms that, I have not and cannot abandon my role in the fight for better conditions of service for the University Teacher. We would be heard more and louder, should government fail to act within this interim period of strike suspension and should the members of UTAG across the country vote to reject the NEC’s temporal suspension of the strike.
10. Judging from the mood of members and the bitter concerns about their poor conditions of service, It is not over until it is over. The ball lies in the court of government to proactively engage UTAG leadership with honest truths, confessions and tangible-implementable proposals that effectively address the concerns of teachers. Otherwise, as I said, the members are voting.
Yaw Gyampo
A31, Prabiw
P.A.V. Ansah Street
Saltpond
&
Suro Nipa House
Kubease
Larteh-Akuapim
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