Plot Against Minister Exposed� As Employment Ministry Mafia Embark On Lying Spree

Diabolic moves by some faceless people with the connivance of a section of the media to run down the Hon. Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Nii Armah Ashietey for no apparent reason, has been exposed. Information gathered by The New Independent has revealed that, the strategy adopted by these faceless people is to spread falsehood and unsubstantiated allegations against the Minister in some selected media houses in a bid to make him unpopular within his ministry and in the eyes of the appointing authorities. According to our credible sources, few disgruntled staff at the ministry who are uncomfortable with the minister�s insistence on strict discipline and professionalism, could be behind the evil and cowardly agenda against the minister. �They think the Minister is a stumbling block to their unproductive, poor work ethics, visa racketeering, stealing and abuse of Financial Regulation, hence the haste to run him down,� a source at the Ministry revealed. One of the most outrageous allegations, which was published in an Accra private newspaper is that, the Minister tried to cover up for the TUC boss to pocket an amount of $4,000 being per diem, hotel and airline ticket meant for his aborted trip to Brazil for the Global Conference on Child Labour. The conference is one of the statutory engagements that government is obliged to sponsor employers and organised Labour to attend. This paper gathered that, the TUC boss was never given $4,000 as alleged by the paper. The amount that was given to Mr. Asamoah, according to official documents at the ministry, was 2,503.2 dollars being per diem and hotel expenses. Mr. Asamoah�s airline ticket was directly procured by the Ministry. The TUC boss was supposed to be on the trip, which is considered as a statutory visit, but due to the intense labour agitation at the time, he was compelled to pull out of the Ghana Delegation at the last minute. Information indicates that, when the Minister returned from the Brazil trip, he instructed his Chief Director to follow up on the TUC boss for the return of the per diem not attend the conference. The TUC boss obliged, according to our sources at the ministry and the airline ticket, which was also procured for the trip has been refunded to the ministry, The New Independent has learnt. Interestingly, this paper found out that, the Ministry rather owes Mr. Kofi Asamoah US$3,300 dollars, the breakdown of which is as follows, that, in 2011, government was supposed to sponsor a delegation to an International Labour Organization (ILO) Conference, but did not have the available funds, compelling the TUC boss to finance the statutory trip from his own resources. The arrears, according credible sources, is yet to be paid to the TUC boss. The New Independent has also found out that, the allegation of mass transfers instigated by the Minister has been established as untrue. Checks made by this paper indicate that, Ms. Adu Larbi, then Chief Director at the Ministry, was transferred based on her own request to the office of the Head of Civil Service. The source also explained that, the transfer of Mr. E.D. Kata to the Ministry of Fisheries had nothing to do with the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations. Rather, it was in line with the normal transfer procedures that take place within the Civil Service. �His transfer couldn�t have been engineered by the minister,� our source at the ministry said. The most shameful allegation was that, the Minister travelled to the UK to attend a private event even though the request was denied by the Chief of Staff. But the fact has emerged that, the Minister, since his appointment as Minister this year, has never travelled to the United Kingdom for nay event or programme, The New Independent�s investigations have established. It is also untrue that, the Minister is on a warpath with staff of the Ministry. Some workers who spoke to this paper disclosed that, the Minister has been holding frequent staff durbars, where workers freely express their views without any intimidation. �If any feud existed between the Minister and works as alleged, it would show during discussions at the staff durbars,� a staff told this reporter.