Can’t Eat Your Cake And Have It

You cannot eat your cake and have it. This is an age-old truism which Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) workers by their demand seeks to set aside.

The workers, suspicious of the Compact Two initiative and perhaps not adequately abreast with the terms therein, are asking to be paid their severance allowances even as they simultaneously join the ranks of the new company.

It is an attempt at rewriting the rules of commonsense. Just how they can convince Ghanaians with their brand of logic is something we are yet to see. Until they are able to convince us, we doubt they can, we can only consider their demand as a non-starter, which must be thrown overboard immediately.

The issue of electricity is critical in any country. In Ghana it is, more so considering what the country went through in the past few years – the accompanying consequences too glaring even for the uninitiated to economics.

We cannot but go along with the terms agreed with the concessionaire; the amount of money to be saved for other development activities prominent. The $1.5 billion which would be saved for other critical projects in the country through the implementation of the deal is a rare offer we cannot toy with.

Imagine the infrastructural development this amount of money can be used for our compatriots.

Leadership is about taking decisions which are in the best interest of all and going along with these regardless of sentiments and actions which would not serve the good of the general society.

Any machination, such as the ECG workers seek to unleash on the country by their unfeasible and unrealistic demand, must not be entertained. The negative repercussions of such demands can impact untowardly on our expectations from the new deal.

The erratic power supply which visited the country in the years past requires a holistic response, unwavering one of course.

The Energy Minister has so far put up the grade of resilience which only good leaders exhibit. Let him stay the course because it is in our interest to do so.

All must gird their loins including ECG workers so we can move toward an efficient delivery of energy to drive the economy.

Indeed the workers have the right to demand what in their estimation serves their best interest; the  greater interest which is the country’s supersedes any individual’s or groups’ for that matter.

The severance allowances are their entitlements but for them to enjoy these while migrating automatically to the new company smacks of ‘nonsense’ for want of a better expression.

As an essential service provider, the ECG workers should be the last group of Ghanaians to seek to throw spanners into the wheels.