The General Secretary of the Medical Laboratory Professional Workers’ Union (MELPWU), Cephas Kofi Akortor, says the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has not lived up to its mandate.

The group announced a strike on June 17 over the lack of conditions of service for its members, despite nearly two years of negotiations with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC).
The union deemed the last meeting on May 31, 2024, as “disappointing.”

Patients visiting some public health facilities for lab services have been left stranded due to the strike, as some are forced to pay for higher costs of lab services at private facilities.
But the General Secretary of the Medical Laboratory Professional Workers’ Union claims the FWSC has failed to fulfil all the promises made to the National Labour Commission, which is a contributory factor for their strike.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Midday News on June 19, he said, “Fair Wages is not being fair. Fair Wages should have been a bit more proactive in their engagement because we are essential service workers. We should not be treated like any kind of people,” he said.

Mr Akortor further alleges that the Commission has always treated the union with contempt.

According to him, each time the FWSC agreed to engage with MELPWU, it was always in response to a protest.

“We have never written to them [FWSC] requesting a meeting and Fair Wages will act upon that. At all times our engagement will take about three months cycle. We will have one meeting today, the next engagement will be about three months later, four months later. It has not been fair,” he added.

When asked about the effects of their strike on healthcare delivery, the General Secretary explained that the leadership was in a difficult position because union members believed they were hesitant to strike due to potential government inducement.

He added that the desperation of their members ultimately led to the strike.

Meanwhile, he expressed the hope that the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission would invite them to the negotiation table to resolve the issue.

The Ministry of Health a statement on Monday, June 17, said significant progress had been made in the negotiations, with most of the proposed items agreed upon by the government Negotiations Team, urging the union to end the strike and return to the negotiation table.

Source: Myjoyonline.com

Energy expert Xatse Derick Emmanuel has disclosed that the intermittent supply of electricity in Ghana cannot be blamed on the challenges associated with the transportation of gas to power the country’s thermal plants.

This development comes after the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) jointly issued a statement to inform Ghanaians that there would be shortfalls in power generation for 3 weeks due to a maintenance works being carried by the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCO).

As a result, the power producing company indicated that there would be power cuts, locally known as Dumsor, in the country for 3 weeks until the gas supply challenges are resolved.

Xatse Derick Emmanuel, a Research and Policy Analyst at the Institute For Energy Security (IES), in a statement debunked the position of the ECG.

The energy analyst said the ECG, since the beginning of this year, has not been able to meet the peak demand of Ghanaians hence the current power crisis has nothing to do with WAPCO’s challenges.

“Credible data available, representing total system power generation at peak periods (10 pm), shows that Ghana has been experiencing power generation deficits throughout this year, ” Xatse noted while pointing to data from the Energy Commission on thr country’s power sector since January 2024.

Below is his statement;

DUMSOR PREDATES WAPCO’S GAS SUPPLY CHALLENGES

Ghana has been experiencing DUMSOR long before the recent gas supply challenges announced by WAPCo.

Credible data available, representing total system power generation at peak periods (10 pm), shows that Ghana has been experiencing power generation deficits throughout this year.

This was evident even before WAPCo’s announcement, which is expected to further increase the generation deficits (more DUMSOR).

“As of December 26, 2023, Ghana’s system peak load stood at 3,618 MW, representing a 4.3% increase from the 2022 recorded peak demand. In 2024, system peak load is estimated to be 3,788
MW, reflecting a 4.7% increase from 2023”- Energy commission report 2024.
This means that, Ghanas peak demand is expected to be around 3788 MW.

Therefore, any power
generation below 3788 MW will result in DUMSOR.

Monthly averages at these time were:
January 2024 = 3162.45 MW, February 2024 = 3276.00 MW, March 2024 = 3154.73 MW, April 2024 = 3199.50 MW, May 2024 = 3161.29 MW, June 2024 = 3101.33 MW.

1. The system peak power generation represents power generated for both domestic usage and export.
2. The total demand peak also includes power demanded domestically and for export.
3. The average power generated at peak periods (10 pm) from January to June 4th, 2024, stands at 3188.12 MW. This figure is far below the peak demand for even 2023, recorded on December 26th, 2023, at 3618 MW, let alone meeting the peak demand projected at 3788 MW for 2024 based on the energy commissions report.
4. This means that from January to June 4th, 2024, Ghana has never been able to meet its peak demand where its power generated (supply) will meet the peak demand. There is a deficit in power generation between 429.88 MW and 599.88 MW when using the 2023 peak demand of 3618 MW or the projected peak demand of 3788 MW, respectively.
5. Therefore, a deficit in power generation of 600 MW is accounting for the DUMSOR. From January 2024 to June 4th, 2024, Ghana experiences DUMSOR of about 600 MW.
6. With the new development where WAPCo has announced a gas supply challenge, causing ECG and GRIDCo to issue a joint press release, the end effect is that Ghana will experience more DUMSOR, meaning there will be a deficit in power generation beyond 600 MW.
7. The other good news is that the thermal plants can operate on Light Crude Oil (LCO) or Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO). Apart from Sunon–Asogli Power (SAPP) and AMERI, which rely only on Natural Gas, the rest operate on either HFO, LCO, or LPG. Therefore, with proper financial capacity, Ghana should be able to generate enough power to meet its peak
demand. Ghana has an installed generation capacity of 5,194 MW, excluding embedded generation, which correlates to a dependable capacity of 4,756 MW. This means that Ghana
should be generating enough power to exceed its peak demand.
8. In conclusion, ECG and the government should not ascribe the DUMSOR to WAPCo’s gas supply challenges because we have already been generating power at a deficit of 600 MW even though WAPCo’s gas supply challenges will worsen the DUMSOR situation, but not when the majority of the thermal plants can operate on either HFO, LCO, or LPG in place of Natural Gas.

Xatse Derick Emmanuel
Research and Policy Analyst
Institute For Energy Security-IES

Source: Myxyzonline.com

The West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) says the impending Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), scheduled for July 2024, faces possible cancellation due to severe funding challenges.

The council has expressed grave concerns about the government’s failure to release critical funds needed for the preparation and administration of the exams.

As the July 8, 2024 exam date approaches, time is running out for the purchase of necessary logistics.

The Director of Public Affairs at WAEC has highlighted the urgency of the situation, stressing the need for immediate financial support to avoid disruption of the exams.

Speaking on Joy FM’s, Midday News, the Director of Public Affairs at WAEC, John Kapi, said, “For BECE, we still have an outstanding payment of  ₵698,500, and then for the 2024 examination, we expect a total amount of ₵95,837,306 from the government.”

He noted that so far, the council has received ₵2,284,618, leaving an outstanding balance of ₵93,552,688 needed for the BECE.

He emphasised that the $2 million received is insufficient to facilitate the examination.

The Minority caucus on the Education Committee in parliament first raised the issue this week, calling for a payment schedule from the government.

Ranking Member on the Education Committee, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, revealed that he proposed to the Chairman of the Education Committee that they call for a meeting with the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Education, and the national officer for WAEC to develop a roadmap for releasing funds.

He noted that this would enable WAEC to conduct the BECE and ensure they have the necessary financial resources to carry out their mandate.

“The BECE is coming on next month, and they need to prepare financially with resources to carry out their mandate. So, they need money.”

He added that the upcoming WASSCE examination in August also requires funding, hence the urgency of meeting with the various authorities to determine how money can be released to WAEC.

However, the Vice Chairman of the committee, Dr Prince Hamidu Armah, has downplayed the seriousness of the government’s indebtedness, arguing that such situations have been the status quo for the past decade.

He noted that in 2023, the government paid over ₵80 million towards the BECE, and in 2024, it has already paid ₵2.5 million plus an additional ₵6 million.

“Just to make the point that the government has demonstrated commitment towards making payments and ensuring that the examinations are conducted,”

The education and health sectors have been severely affected by persistent inflation, which stood at 23.1% as of May 2024, down from 25% in April 2024.

These sectors have reportedly seen a substantial decline recently, showing no signs of improvement.

Government Statistician Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim emphasised the urgent need for proactive and pragmatic measures from government institutions to address the situation.

Source: Myjoyonline.com