It is unfair for the government to spend huge amounts of taxpayer money in furtherance of the much-criticized National Cathedral, Labour Expert, Seth Abloso has said.
Government in the 2023 budget allocated GH¢80 million for the construction of the National Cathedral but this was subsequently disapproved by Parliament.
Speaking to A1 Radio about the recently agreed 30 percent base pay increment between organised labour and the government, Mr. Abloso cautioned the government against reckless expenditure, citing the National Cathedral as a critical example. He mentioned that should the government rationalise its expenditure, it may have been able to afford to pay organised labour better, considering the current economic circumstances.
According to the Labour Expert, under no circumstance should the government spend any public funds on the construction of the project.
“It is an obligation, you need to address the issue and look at how you make the commencement of that obligation and it means that you must reorder your expenditure, you must completely reorder your expenditure and put away things that are not necessary.”
“We don’t need to spend a penny on the National Cathedral, and I talk to you as a Christian in that respect. [This is] because the National Cathedral was a personal pledge from the then candidate, as we are told. A personal pledge from then candidate Akufo-Addo. It is not fair on the people of Ghana for him to have smuggled that as a national obligation,” he said.
Mr. Abloso also asked the government to implement the findings of the Yaa Ntiamoa Baidu committee, which asked the government to take steps in addressing the disparities of public sector workers in order to end the yearly back and forth between the government and organised labour.
Source:A1Radioonline.Com|101.1MHZ|David Azure|Bolgatanga|
