Doe Alobuia Is Acting President of GNAT

The National Executive Council of the Ghana National Associationof Teachers (GNAT) has elected Mr Samuel Doe Alobuia as acting National President of the association with immediate effect.

The acting National President of the GNAT, who was the substantive National Vice-President, will act in his new position until the next National Delegates Conference scheduled for 2014.

Mr Alobuia was elected at the end of their NEC meeting held in Kumasi.

In a statement issued to the press on Friday, August 12, 2011, GNAT explained that the election of Mr Alobuia as acting National President was in line with the vacuum created after the resignation of the substantive President of the GNAT, Mr Paul Apanga on July, 6, 2011.

The statement signed by Mr Alobuaiexplained that the resignation of the former president of the association followed his promotion to the grade of Director 1 in the Ghana Education Service “which goes with an elevation from a District Director of Education”.

Explaining further, the statement said the new position of the former president conflicted with his position as president of the GNAT, hence his resignation.

The statement said with the vacuum created by the election of Mr Alobuia during the NEC meeting, Mr Shaibu Wilberforce Adams, who is the Headmaster of Northern School of Business in Tamale, (NOBISCO) was also elected as acting Vice-President of GNAT.

He will also act in that capacity until 2014 when a delegates conference will be held to take further action.

According to the statement, GNAT had acquired a 30-acre land at Abankro, near Ejisu in the Ashanti Region with the intention of developing it into a teachers village to serve as a retreat centre for teachers.

The statement also said in line with their constitution, they had ratified the decision of its national officers to expel the leadership of a group of teachers who called itself ‘Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT)”.

The statement explained that the expulsion followed the failure of the members to use internal structures to address their grievances as demanded by their constitution and the National Labour Commission (NLC).

“GNAT will continue to operate as a credible and respectable association guided by a constitution. We remain open to constructive criticisms and useful suggestions to improve upon our performance, not forgetting the fact that we are a human institution”.

The statement also said death and retirement benefits paid to members had been increased from GH¢500.00 to GH¢ 1, 000.00 with effect from January 2012.

On their youth policy, the statement said they had established a youth desk with a youth co-ordinator in its headquarters in Accra.

It said the coordinator would co-ordinate the activities of the members who fell within the youth bracket.

The statement explained further that the new policy “affords our youthful teachers the opportunity to contribute more meaningfully to the development of GNAT, offer them professional career guidance and the opportunity to be nurtured for leadership roles in the association”.

The statement also indicated that GNAT was collaborating with stakeholders to ensure that the second tier pension scheme was registered and added that “the association is considering the appointment of four trustees by maintaining the two representatives we have at the moment”.