TUC Should Be Consistent And Acknowledge Interventions To Save The Cedi

A Deputy Minister of Information and Media Relations, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has asked the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to be objective and balanced in their analysis as far as government�s interventions at stabilizing the cedi is concerned. He expressed surprise "at the position taken by the TUC on the economy�, saying �it is important to acknowledge these and give credit where it is due.� �There is a difficulty with our currency which has had an effect on the well-being of Ghanaians but BoG has announced measures that will help address the decline. It is important that we acknowledge what has been done over the period to make life a little more meaningful for Ghanaians,� he said. The Deputy Minister was commenting on the decline of the cedi, Bank of Ghana�s (BoG) intervention to save the situation and comments from the TUC. The deputy Secretary-General of TUC, Yaw Baah in an interview with an Accra based radio station said the declining cedi will increase the cost of living in the country while pushing inflation upwards. According to him, an economy can only be said to be doing well when both interest rate and inflation are below 7 percent and advised government to avoid throwing dust into the eyes of the masses and concentrate on finding solutions to the challenges facing the country�s economy. Contributing to panel discussions on Alhaji and Alhaji, a political discussion platform on Radio Gold, Felix Kwakye Ofosu said the TUC �cannot in one breath attack government for working to hold down inflation and in another breath attack the same government when inflation inches up a little�. On the 26th of March 2013, the TUC issued a statement signed by its General Secretary, Kofi Asamoah, headlined �target job creation and not lower inflation�' Juxtaposing the two statements by the Trades Union's leading figures, the Deputy Information Minister said, "this is the TUC criticizing government for focusing on holding inflation down inflation below 10%...the TUC said it (low inflation) was going to hurt growth and stifle job creation�a year down the line the deputy secretary general of TUC also says that an economy that is doing well must have an inflation that is below single digit. It is important that the leadership of organized labour channel the concerns of its membership �but their intervention on the discourse of the economy must come with some level of consistency and candor."