Workers' Day: Let’s reflect on the sorry state of our country – SMG to Ghanaian workers

The Socialist Movement of Ghana has commended Ghanaian workers for their instrumental role and dedication to the development of the country.

In a statement issued on May 1, 2024, to mark Workers' Day, SMG praised the working population for their sacrifices and commitment despite the unfavourable working conditions most of them suffer.

SMG appealed to Ghanaians to use the day to reflect on the ‘sorry state’ of the country which is wallowing in economic, power and transportation challenges.

Read their statement below

Workers worldwide will celebrate May 1, a day set aside to promote solidarity in the struggles of working people for better working and living conditions and for the building of a new world free from exploitation and oppression. On this occasion, the Socialist Movement of Ghana (SMG) salutes the working people of Ghana and the world for their steadfast struggle against the underdevelopment imposed on our country by Capitalism.

The SMG notes that in every epoch of history, the working people of the world have defeated exploitation, whether in the form of slavery, serfdom, classical colonialism, neo-colonialism, or imperialism. Such also is our history. As we mark May Day 2024, we must reflect on the sorry state of Ghana today. We have all but succumbed to rapidly escalating prices of food, rent, healthcare, transport, and general services. Today, it takes GHS 14.20 to purchase 1 US dollar. Inflation is hovering around 26 percent and unemployment around 14% with an employment freeze dictated by the International Monetary Fund and implemented by a callous, unpatriotic, and profligate Government.

Despite the disaster, the Government of Ghana adheres slavishly to the neo-liberal agenda of privatisation of state enterprises and services to cronies, retrenchment of labour, and commercialisation of all social services – an agenda which government to government has pursued since the 24, 1966coup which ousted President Nkrumah.

The working people of Ghana have a duty to themselves and the world to struggle to end their hardship and the general state of decay that has engulfed us. We can defeat our deplorable conditions of poverty and misery only through a sustained struggle against capitalism. We assert democratic state control over our resources and the processes through which they are produced and turned into usable goods to provide sustainable benefits to our people.

As workers celebrate May Day, we ask that they remember the plight of the working people of Palestine facing Israeli genocide that has so far claimed over 40,000 Palestinian lives (primarily women and children) with the active support of the West led by the United States of America. We must intensify our solidarity with Palestine and demand an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, an end to settler colonial occupation of Palestinian lands, and the right of return of all Palestinian refugees to their homeland.

On May Day, the SMG salutes all the working people of the world, especially the workers of Ghana and their organisations.

EK