GHANA RAILWAYS AND MP’S

It is often said “what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander,” but what do we see in our dear country; the rich or the elite are always thinking of themselves more than the ordinary people.

Before I proceed I hope by the end of this piece, I would be invited to the privileges committee of the Ghanaian Parliament because I will have committed contempt. But if we are bold to call a spade a spade, there will be no cause for alarm.

On 15th August this year, parliamentarians in Ghana’s parliament threatened to strike because the government had refused to pay their salary arrears since 2009. This is very interesting because they said if they are not paid they can’t come to the house to contribute willingly from their hearts.

Eiiiiiiiii!

Many Ghanaian workers such as the Ghana Railway workers have been complaining about their salary arrears and also gone on strike but to know avail. Do our political elite know what goes on in the minds of these people when they go to work every day?

So if the government owes you for just three years, you threaten strike and you can’t contribute willingly from your heart; what hypocrisy?

A visit to the Ghana Railway Company in Sekondi recently showed that it is not only the workers that are complaining about their salary arrears but the equipment and tools together with the railway lines are all complaining about maintenance and even some have worn out and need to be changed.

In spite of all these, the poor railway worker goes to work religiously, work with all their heart and try as much as possible to protect the little equipment they have and not destroy them.

If these parliamentarians are crying for their salary arrears to be paid then the ordinary railway worker also needs his arrears to be paid. In fact, they must fight for the arrears of all government workers to be paid before theirs. MPs salaries need to be the last Government should worry about.

The ordinary railway workers queue in the sun to exercise their franchise by voting for them to go to parliament to fight for them to have better conditions of service but what do we see? They always fight for their own first, leaving the ordinary people who voted for them to suffer.

If the railway worker is being paid a half amount of the salary of the parliamentarian, they would be working more than what they do now.

Hypocrisy at the highest level needs to be stopped because we are all equal in the sight of our Maker. They don’t even deserve to be called Honourables. Honourable thinking of driving new cars, taking rent allowances and also having “fat” salaries; is this what we voted for them to do?

Meanwhile, there are some parliamentarians who are causing more harm than good to their constituents because they were voted for to go the House to make their plights to be known and get solutions. Unfortunately, some of them hardly contribute on the floor of the house. Others hardly go to the house whiles when they go; they try as much as possible to sleep whiles proceedings are going on.

Hmm, is that why we voted for them? Let’s call a spade a spade. Remember it is the tax payer’s money which is used to pay them.

It is time that we have value for our money as Ghanaians and we should not succumb to their wishes unless they give us basic services.

Parliamentarians should seek to better the lives of the ordinary Ghanaian and not theirs.
 

We should all know that if parliamentarians are seeking their arrears to be paid then the ordinary Ghanaian who works at the Ghana Railways also needs the same; we should stop such hypocrisy in our politics.

Ekow Aidoo
paanyan7@gmail.com