National President of the University Teachers’ Association of Ghana (UTAG), Prof. Solomon Nunoo, has shot back at the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta for the latter’s ‘there is no money to pay teachers’ remarks.
In a viral audio that gained traction this week, Ken Ofori-Atta is heard declaring teachers deserve ‘better’ but it’s unfortunate that government is in a tighter corner to help with their plight.
To the UTAG body, his claims are “unfortunate”.
“There is no money yet they [government] have money for other things,” Prof. Solomon Nunoo said in an interview with NEAT FM’s morning show, ‘Ghana Montie’.
UTAG has agreed to suspend their seven-week-old industrial action.
This is to pave the way for a two-week negotiation with the government to begin and conclude.
The suspension is subject to the approval of UTAG members within a five-day period.
The announcement was made via a Facebook post by the General Secretary of the University of Ghana Branch of UTAG, Professor Ransford Gyampo, who said the decision to suspend the strike was reached by the UTAG National Executive Committee meeting held on Monday, February 21, 2022.
The Minister speaking at a graduation ceremony at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) urged the fresh graduates to find innovative ways of becoming entrepreneurs and venture into a business that will be of profit.
This Mr Ofori Atta told the UPSA graduates will help reduce the over-reliance on the government for jobs, and also reduce the burden on the government’s payroll as is the only way the rising unemployment rate can be reduced.
“That Government of Ghana (GoG) payroll is full because we are spending some 60% of our revenue on remunerating some new 650,000 people. That is not sustainable,” the Finance Minister stated at the graduation ceremony.
He added that “You have the skills set to be able to do what you have to do. Government is to create the environment and the macro stability, currency stability and ensure that you have access to the relevant skills and financing.”
The politician also said the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo led government is structuring its budget to focus on how to support the youth or unemployed tertiary graduates in the country to create their own jobs.
The project according to the Minister for Finance is being done by the government through initiatives such as the Ghana CARES programme. “This budget that we are going to be doing is going to really focus on the youth,” he said.
