Political Party Office Holders in the Ashanti Region, comprising executives from the Convention People’s Party (CPP), All People’s Progress (APC), People’s National Congress (PNC) and Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) have appealed to Organised Labour to rescind its decision to embark on strike, starting from today, October 10, 2024.
Addressing the press in Kumasi Yesterday, Mr Issah Abdul Salam, Convener of the group, disclosed that the planned demonstration would have an adverse impact on Ghanaians than the ruling Government, and emphasised that embarking on the strike action is like “shutting down Ghana”, hence the appeal.
The Convener further proposed measures for fighting illegal mining, popularly known as ‘galamsey’ in the local parlance and suggested that Organised Labour should make a pact for all political parties to sign, as well as engaging all relevant stakeholders residents and chiefs in galamsey areas and educate them on the dangers of the menace.
He further suggested that the issuance of licenses for mining should be withheld for now and government should dispatch the military to galamsey areas and the revocation of “Legislative Instruments 2642” in the Parliament of Ghana and be placed under a Certificate of Emergency.
According to Mr Salaam, “demonstrating” is not the expedient way to fight the “menace”.
Speaking to the media, Mr. Kofi Owusu Omar, Ashanti Regional Secretary, GCPP, said that it is unconscionable that Organised Labour was attempting to embark on such a strike when the country was barely two months away from crucial presidential and parliamentary elections, which he says is “fishy” and politically motivated.
From Oswald Pius Freiku, Kumasi
