President of the Ghana National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Eric Agbe-Carbonu, has called on the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), media, and other professional associations to join hands in addressing national issues affecting the country.
Speaking in an interview with Evans Mensah on Joy News’ PM Express, Agbe-Carbonu emphasized the need for collective action to hold the government accountable and address critical concerns facing Ghana.
“If yesterday we did not raise our voice, we want to assure everybody today moving forward, you will hear our voice on pertinent issues,” Agbe-Carbonu asserted, reflecting on the recent nationwide strike organized by organised labour over the sale of SSNIT’s stake in hotels to public officials.
Organised labour, including NAGRAT, had initially launched the strike to protest SSNIT’s plan to sell 60% shares in four hotels to a private firm owned by Food and Agriculture Minister Bryan Acheampong. The strike was suspended recently, with the Trades Union Congress (TUC) giving SSNIT a one-month ultimatum to resolve outstanding pension issues.
Agbe-Carbonu clarified that their actions were not intended to hold the country hostage but rather to ensure accountability in governance. He urged the GBA, media, and all stakeholders to join their cause for the betterment of Ghana.
Addressing concerns about their perceived silence on national issues such as illegal mining (‘galamsey’), Agbe-Carbonu pointed out the involvement of influential figures in perpetuating these issues.
“It is the powerful people behind it, not the boys and girls we arrest in the gravel pits, who are responsible for the galamsey,” he remarked, drawing a parallel to organized crime. “It is the people we have given power to.”
He called for unity among professional associations and the media to confront challenges that threaten Ghana’s development and prosperity.
“And we want other people to come on board, we do not want the Ghana Bar Association to be docile and tell us that they don’t want to talk politics. They should come on board,” Agbe-Carbonu urged.
“We want the media to come on board. We want everybody to come on board because this is the only country that we have,” he emphasized.