I use this page today to sing an Ode to the new leadership of the Trades Union Congress (TUC). The
Herculean effort to take on the government, and to bring about a degree of force to the fight against
illegal mining and the rampant destruction of Ghana’s environment, is, to my opinion, successful.
Yes, I must confess that I was fully in support of the intended strike, maybe not to the extent of the
hardship it would wreak on Ghanaians, but as to the fact that the management of the illegal mining
menace by the government and by extension the political class, has been nothing less than criminal.
The Herculean effort that was brought to bear to break the back of the intended strike, attests to this.
Everything points to the fact that the government would do anything possible and practicable to
undermine those who are opposed to the destruction of our environment. In converse, it would extend
every courtesy to those who are busy destroying the environment.
I have stated before on this very page, and I have no doubt that I would have the opportunity to make
the same or similar statements in future, that attitude decides everything.
And if attitude decides everything, then it is all too clear that the level of destruction of our forests,
farmlands and river bodies can only come about if there is official sanction and endorsement. It cannot
happen otherwise. And in this instance, I am not even blaming the current government alone, but even
previous governments and incoming governments.
For instance, I watched a video of the NDC’s John Mahama espousing his support for illegal mining
because according to him, it creates jobs and brings in foreign currency. The question I asked myself
was; of what use would be all that foreign currency, if we have to use it to fund diseases from poisoned
waters and rivers? Of what use would be all that foreign currency, if we have to ran out of Ghana due to
starvation?
The complicity is not only at the level of this government, but at the level of all governments past,
present and future who could not focus the nation on a path where we can make millions out of our
natural environment without destroying it.
In that, we have failed.
So, I say that the TUC deserves to be commended for almost bringing the government on its knees. But
this battle must also serve as a significant learning curve for the fresh faces at the TUC, the new,
younger, moral voices like Professor Gyampo and Bernard Owusu, who would like to see a change;
something is broken in the TUC, and needs to be fixed, urgently.
You see, history is replete with examples of great battles lost, not from any effort on the side of the
enemy, but from the enemy within; the enemy who would sell the home front for a bag of gruel.
I have followed the events that led to the back of the TUC strike breaking, and I am full of sadness. I
have always said that in the night, eventually, all of us would go back home, to our houses, wives,
husbands, families and friends. Many of those we interact with, when we are not o record, are people
who we can never quote, but who would affect outcomes at the workplace.
I have no doubt that the government bought off some in the TUC leadership. Yes, they received plain,
old fashioned bribes to sell the workers of Ghana for a bowl of gruel. These are the leaches who live off
the back of the long-suffering worker, who have managed to inveigle themselves into positions with the
labour unions, who, in actuality, are true enemies of labour and workers.
The experience of the past week should serve as a valuable learning curve to the Young Bloods who are
rising on the front of labour. It is time for housecleaning on the labour front. If labour is truly to come
into its own, it must get rid of some of these dogs, one way or the other.
(PERISCOPE DEPTH of 14 th October, 2024).
