Alfred Ogbamey: Only liars won"t see anything good in Nunoo-Mensah’s statement

Alfred Ogbamey

The Managing Editor of the Gye Nyame Concord, Mr Alfred Ogbamey, has described some aspects of Brigadier-General Nunoo-Mensah’s (retd) controversial statement, delivered at O’Reilly Senior High School on Saturday, as “cogent” and “coherent”.

Mr Ogbamey was making reference to the former’s comment to the effect that workers who go on strike should not be paid.

Brig-Gen Nunoo-Mensah, who is the National Security Advisor, had stated that the government should no longer tolerate the phenomenon of workers laying down their tools every now and then, instead of using dialogue to resolve their grievances.

“If anybody goes on strike, he should not be paid. If you cannot sacrifice for the country the way some of us have done, then get out,” he said.

His comments prompted widespread criticism and condemnation, with at least one opposition party calling for his dismissal.

But speaking on Accra-based Peace FM Thursday, Mr Ogbamey said not every aspect of Bri-Gen Nunoo-Mensah’s speech was bad.

He said while Brig-Gen Nunoo-Mensah’s call on disgruntled workers to “get out of the country” was “unreasonable” and “inapplicable”, he raised certain key points that should not be discounted.

He said the “get out” comments, which might have been informed by Brig-Gen Nunoo-Mensah’s military background, marred what would have been a brilliant submission.

According to Mr Ogbamey, the National security Adviser should have, in making his points, realised that he was no longer in the military, where personnel have to obey instructions before complaining.

“The way he ended his speech shows his inept communication skills,” he added.

Mr Ogbamey emphasised, however, that only a liar would say every aspect of Brig-Gen Nunoo-Mensah’s statement was “senseless”.

Explaining his point, Mr Ogbamey said the spate of strikes, which the National Security Advisor complained about, was something the country needed to be worried about.

He said many of the strikes that had been embarked upon, including some by essential services workers, were illegal.

Strikes, in his view, have unnecessarily become tools of coercion, which workers adopt when they are disgruntled.

Mr Ogbamey added that Ghana’s labour law, which was supposed to regulate how workers embark on strikes, had been “turned upside down”.

Source Graphic Ghana News

Alfred Ogbamey: Only liars won"t see anything good in Nunoo-Mensah’s statement