Business News of Thursday, 22 August 2013

Source: Adom News

‘Judgment debt collapse Ghana Post’

The Chairman of the Ghana Postal Service Workers Union, Emmanuel Addo has said the GH¢2.4 million judgment debt that Ghana Post Company Limited paid during 2005 to 2008 collapsed the company.

He said an Accra High Court award damaged against the company as judgment debt in favour of Sky Consult and Management Services because Ghana Post (GP) suspended a money transfer contract with latter abruptly.

Speaking on Adom FM's “Burning Issues” program, the Union Chairman said the Ghana Post and Sky Consult agreed to implement Instant Money Transfer (IMT) but Ghana Post unilaterally suspended the contract after three years, causing Sky Consult to sue for damages.

Commenting about other challenges facing Ghana Post, Mr. Addo noted that the company is on the verge of total collapse if government does not intervene.

He explained that Ghana Post has about 350 branches nationwide with about 1,950 experienced workers, but lack the resources to execute its mandate efficiently.

The chairman suggested that computerization of the operations of Ghana Post is imperative to its resuscitation and survival, adding that there is the need to network all the branches electronically across the country to get access to free information’s in their operations.

He also noted that government controls on tariff adjustment is also affecting the GP badly, saying that the last time GP increased tariffs was in 2008, meanwhile their operational cost keeps increasing.

“Most graduates are leaving because service conditions at Ghana Post are not sufficient to support such people,” the Union Chair stated.

He said the workers have retirement benefits in their collective bargaining agreement but the present board and management said they cannot sustain it so they have frozen it.

Mr. Addo stated that since 2009, retired officers who worked at Ghana Post had not received their retirement package, so he thinks the government must intervene.