ICU delegates conference runs into confusion

Kumasi, Aug. 10, GNA - The seventh delegates' quadrennial conference of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) has run into confusion with the breakway by 13 institutions under the union to form a new national union.

These include the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), Ghana Cement Company (Ghacem), the BBC, FPC Limited and the La Community Bank.

The rest are Bank of Ghana (BOG), Merchant Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO), State Insurance Company (SIC), Oyko Europat and the Ghana National Procurement Agency (GNPA).

Mr Smart Abbey of the Merchant Bank announced the decision by the institutions to split away from the ICU just after the Credentials Committee had presented its report to the conference on the number of accredited delegates who could vote in the election of new officers. The announcement was greeted with boos from those who opposed the idea, whilst those in agreement carried him on their shoulders as they filed out of the conference hall to the bemusement of the foreign observers present.

A resolution signed by the leaders of the breakaway institutions accused the ICU leadership of lack of transparency, mismanagement and dictatorship.

It said, "the leadership has amply demonstrated complete disregard for the delegates by manipulating the electoral process just to perpetuate themselves in office".

It expressed indignation at what it said was the electoral fraud to disenfranchise some of the delegates and disqualify some contestants. Their action is widely believed to be the result of attempts by the ICU leadership to disqualify Mr Francis Davor, the ICU Administrative Secretary from contesting the position of the General Secretary.

Mr Davor, by a clause in the ICU's constitution did not qualify to contest for the position since he did not satisfy the requirement of having worked for the union for six years.

The Ghana News Agency (GNA) learnt that efforts by some of the delegates to get the clause expunged to allow him contest Mr Napoleon Kpoh, the incumbent General Secretary, for the position were met with fierce resistance by the leadership of the Union.