Catering Officers Dismissed At Techiman

Joseph Yieleh Chireh, Local Gov't Minister

THE TECHIMAN Municipal Assembly has embarked on a mass dismissal of all caterers of the School Feeding Programme. 

The caterers who were not given any letter of dismissal are perceived to be supporters of the NPP.  In their place, appointment letters have been given to new caterers who are believed to be supporters of the NDC to start work.   

At Forikrom, the Assemblyman of the town, Mr. James Osei Kwabena, visited the SDA primary school with four women and introduced them as the new caterers for the programme. 

When he was questioned by one of the workers, Madam Esther Donyina, on why they were being replaced, he answered that since it was the NPP government that employed them; their services were not needed anymore. 

He told the bewildered women that because the NDC was in power, there was the need to employ their members.   

Letters of appointment signed on behalf of the   Techiman Municipal Coordinating Director, Mr. Tuunyire, had been given to new caterers to take over from the old ones. 

Information gathered by DAILY GUIDE also indicated that DCEs in almost all the districts in the Brong Ahafo Region had given orders to their respective coordinating directors to dismiss all caterers in the School Feeding Programme.   

The dismissal syndrome took a different turn at Tanoso, in the Techiman Municipality on Sunday, 21st June 2009, when the chief of the town, Nana Kwaku Kwarteng V, summoned a meeting of all the workers of the programme to his palace to listen to their plight. 

When news went around that the workers were meeting with the chiefs, a group of irate supporters of the NDC besieged the palace amidst shouting and profane words. 

They threatened to attack the workers if they dared step on any school compound to cook for the children. 

The following day, Nana Kwaku Kwarteng V went to meet with the Techiman Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Alex Kyeremeh, on the issue. 

According to an eye witness, the MCE told the chief that the workers should consider themselves dismissed and that new ones would be employed.   

The situation was not different from what was happening to the staff of the National Health Insurance.  In the case of the workers of the NHIS, offices were being shut down whiles supporters of the NDC subjected the workers to taunting and threats on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, the Techiman South NPP leadership has called a press conference to register their protest at the turn of events.  Speaking at the press conference, Mr. Adam Mohamed, the constituency Assistant Secretary said the actions of the NDC supporters would not augur well for the peaceful co-existence that everybody desires. 

He warned that if the supporters of the NDC continued to take the law into their own hands, the NPP would resist, even at the peril of their lives.  Mr. Mohamed appealed to President Mills to remember the promise he made to Ghanaians that he would be president of all and impress upon the supporters of the NDC to halt the harassment and intimidation. 

According to Mr. Mohamed, the promise made by the NDC that they will create jobs for the people would be a mirage if they start with dismissals.

 He also appealed to traditional authorities and other opinion leaders to take part in the management of schools to ensure that better academic results were achieved.

He intimated that now that the elections were over, there was the need for political parties to unite and champion the cause of unity and stability, calling on political parties to bury their differences and unite to ensure national development.

From Eric Bawah, Techiman