We don’t want to call you a liar but when did you pay the arrears? – aggrieved teachers quiz Akufo-Addo
Claims by President Akufo-Addo saying teachers have received their legacy arrears has been denied by the Association of Aggrieved Teachers.
The association also revealed that all efforts made by the government to settle the arrears have yielded no results.
“We write with much pains in our heart to hear our president at the 6th Quadrennial (53rd) GNAT delegate conference held in Kumasi on 5th January 2022 say that his government has cleared all legacy arrears.”
“We don’t want to say our president is a liar, but in all sincerity, we the affected teachers are yet to receive this promised legacy arrears.”
The association quizzed the President on which year and group of teachers the arrears were paid to if indeed they have been paid as claimed by the President..
“If our president purports to have paid this legacy arrears, then, he should please answer these questions for the public; When did he pay? Which year batch did he pay to? How did he pay it?”
“The legacy arrears fight continued in 2020 where writing of letters, consultations and engagement were made with the various stakeholders, yet, nothing good came out of it.”
“On the eve of 2020 elections (6th December), one Madam Mary Owusu called our PRO (Mr Kweku Tabiri Effah) to inform him that; the money has been paid into our accounts. We checked, and it was the salary arrears that he owed the 2016-year batch that he paid and even with that, he couldn’t pay them all. So, which legacy arrears is our indefatigable president talking about? We even forwarded our grievances to CHRAJ of which acknowledgement was made that they are working on our case, Parliament was petitioned as well.”
The association said it is leaving no stone unturned as it is ready to go the extra mile in all legitimate means to retrieve its members “hard-earned money.”
It also called on the government to stop compounding the plight of teachers by spreading falsehood and focusing on fulfilling its financial obligations.
Teacher unions in the country — the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) — have all, on several occasions, threatened to lay down their tools over the failure of the government to pay the legacy arrears.
Some of these arrears include over two years’ salary and promotion arrears, as well as allowances of some public school teachers, which have sparked a series of demonstrations in the education sector.
By: Stella Annan | myactiveonline.com Twitter @activetvgh
