There were worrying scenes at the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) in Accra as persons expected to pick their certificates of registration as well as check on their verification processes were left stranded and frustrated.
Already the department has been forced to put on hold, sanctions on defaulting businesses due to the ongoing strike by the Civil and Local Government Service Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG).
When the Daily Heritage got to the scene yesterday to ascertain the severity of the strike, it was clear that more harm had been done.
What was more worrying was that some members of the public were unaware the department was part of CLOSAG and therefore travelled long distances to Accra only to realize the place had been locked up.
What the paper observed was that there was a van going round reminding all CLOSAG members of how important the strike was to their course and those found inside the offices were instructed to retire and go home.
“Our strike is still in force. No one is supposed to work. Remember that we are doing this together. Please everybody should go home, we are not working,” were some of the messages that came out of the moving pick up.
Some members of the public who came to the scene unknowingly expressed their frustration in separate interactions with the paper. They lamented that they needed their certificates urgently for business transactions.
Businesses Escape
Meanwhile, the RGD has been forced to put on hold, sanctions of defaulting businesses due to the ongoing strike, according to the public Relations Officer (PRO), Constance Adoma TAKYI.
“Originally, we were to start Monday, August 1 until the issue of the CLOSAG strike came up. We have had businesses coming in to file their annual returns. But we are facing challenges completing the processes due to the strike.
“I think that if somebody comes to pay and the person has not been given access to pay, then it is not the persons fault,” she explained.
The exercise was initially scheduled to commence on Monday, August 1 2016 and aimed at getting companies file their annual returns as required by law.
CLOSAG’s strike started on July 27, following government’s inability to meet their demands of paying them their interim premium allowances.
Background
The department earlier warned businesses that failed to comply would be liable to a daily penalty of 300 Ghana Cedis in addition to the required annual returns between August 1 and December 31, 2016.
“Originally, we decided that we will apply the penalty because we have given the business operators enough time to file their annual returns.
“We started issuing these releases since last year and till date quite a number of companies have adhered to it. They have filed their annual returns, they have even updated their records and others but then a lot more companies still remain on the data base and have not filed their annual returns,” Constance Takyi added.
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