A GNA Feature by Wilhelm Gaitu

Ho, April 27, GNA - "You cannot put a price on a cat in a 'Kevi'," a traditional Ewe sack woven from raffia; neither "does one set a thief's house on fire, one rather searches through it". These are important transliterated Ewe proverbs which caution against the propensity to rush into judgment.

Current arguments for and against the proposed Single-Spine Salary in the Public Service come close to prejudging the outcome of the Policy, an act=

frowned upon by traditional wisdom as enunciated in the two proverbs. The arguments for or against the new salary structure depends on where=

one's interest is. So far the Civil and Local Government Staff Associatio= n, Ghana (CLOGSAG) has come out as the most vociferous against the policy, which the Association perceived to be to the disadvantage of its members. On the other hand some other labour groups have been breathing down th= e neck of Government to implement the new salary policy by its July 2010 deadline or. Under the circumstances a choice has to be made between implementing t= he policy or wait until all grievances have been addressed.

Should the proverbial cat continue to be holed up in the "Kevi" while the stakeholders haggle about its price or should it be brought out for all to see whether it is a kitten or a cat, fat or lean, black, white or black a= nd white?

Should the proverbial thief's house be set on fire to damn him or searched to prove his guilt or innocence?

Wisdom would advise that the proverbial cat be let out of the "Kevi" to determine its worth and a search conducted through the house of the proverbial thief for him to be judged fairly and appropriately. 27 April 10