It did not address my reality – Angel Carbonu rubbishes Akufo-Addo’s SoNA
President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT ), Angel Cabonu has expressed his disappointment in President Akufo-Addo’s State of the Nation Address claiming the president’s message did not show any headway to address the plight of organized labour.
Making his point, he stated that though the president fulfilled his constitutional obligation of delivering the national address, the message fell short of bringing out plans to deal with the high cost of living.
He also added that the address did not reflect his personal reality, which includes his inability to purchase goods and services as a result of the high cost of living in the country.
“My reality now is the dire economic situation that is affecting me, and I am not able to buy goods and services, while my cedi has depreciated and life is becoming very difficult,” he said
“I was expecting that the president, having recognized the fact that the economic situation is very dire and having serious consequences on the individual, will inform us, workers in the country, specifically teachers, that these are the strategies that have been put in place to ameliorate the challenges that are afflicting us,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo while delivering the State of the Nation address on Wednesday, said his government is aware of the many economic challenges facing Ghanaians and is working to address them.
“I know that there is a general sense of anxiety in our nation at the moment. The Ghanaian people are anxious about the economy, cost of living, income levels, jobs for young people and issues that we all thought that we had achieved national consensus on… We are aware that we are in difficult times, and we are addressing the situation. The belt-tightening measures being set for members of the Executive have been elaborated within this context,” he said.
But Mr Carbonu reiterated that the President should have considered the plight of organised labour, and made a definite pronouncement to the effect that it would engage organised labour to review their salaries to reflect the challenges of the economy.
“I was expecting an announcement that government is committed to negotiating with organized labour on salaries that will be coterminous with the economic situation that we find ourselves… I did not hear that, and I am disappointed in that aspect,” he said.
