'Dumsor' is temporal - Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has in another reassurance message and a commitment to fix the worsening power crisis, told Ghanaian workers at the celebration of the 2015 May Day, that the crisis is only temporal and will soon be over.

Without going into details about emergency measures and timelines, the President noted that Government was working assiduously to fix the problem permanently rather than simply manage it.

Speaking on the theme 'Addressing the energy challenges 'the role of organized Labour', the President asked Ghanaian workers who were being celebrated on the day to bear with Government for the time being as it works hard to fix the problem.

Acknowledging the depth of the challenges, the President sympathized with Ghanaians especially those who are bearing the brunt of the power crisis a bit more severely due to the inconsistencies in the load management schedule by the Electricity Company of Ghana.

The President thus called on the Electricity Company of Ghana to as a matter of urgency treat customers properly and fairly not to worsen the already bad situation in such times.

The President reiterated his promise that there was not going to be job cuts as part of IMF conditionalities, but said there was going to be a rigorous staff rationalization programme to ensure some equity and fairness particularly in the areas of education and health.

President Mahama also noted that Government was working earnestly on issues of discrepancies about workers pension benefits adding that government would not do anything to deny any pensioner or worker their benefits.

On sanitation, the President asked all Ghanaians to embark on a drastic behavioral change to build a cleaner society and healthier people who can contribute effectively to nation building.

He thus rallied support and participation in the national sanitation exercise which takes place in the first Saturday of each month. That for the month of May, comes off in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region.

President Mahama urged Ghanaian workers to work diligently to contribute meaningfully to the country's progress.

He commended organized labor for fruitful and firm discussions that reached a daily minimum wage of Ghc7.00 for Ghanaian workers from an initial Ghc6.00.

On his part, the Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress, Mr. Kofi Asamoaah, speaking on behalf of workers, said the power crisis was taking a huge toll on the working population and asked Government to fix it quickly.

On the IMF bailout, the TUC maintained that it was not in support of the programme since the IMF policy in the last thirty years has not made any positive mapct on the country. He however thanked the President for reassuring them that there was not going to be job cuts and said they would hold the President to his words.

Mr. Kofi Asamoah also waded into the issues hovering around the alleged privatization of the Agricultural Development Bank, ADB, and urged Government to discard such plans if there were any.

The TUC Boss also expressed concern about sanitation issues and asked Government to invest in that area and chart a new course that will ensure a cleaner society.

Organised Labour also appealed to President Mahama to withdraw its case against workers over pension issues from the court for an amicable out of court settlement.

He also commended the government for the national sanitation day initiative. Some active and retired workers who have distinguished themselves in various fields were awarded as part of the day to celebrate workers globally.