While the ordinary teacher might just be fortunate to receive a small radio set and a diary at the end of the year for his/her contribution as a member of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), top officials of the association are feeding fat and comfortably remunerating themselves with the millions of cedis poor teachers contribute to the association.
Information gathered by The Finder indicates that management of GNAT has instituted a scheme to specially remunerate its General Secretary and deputies, as well as regional executives.
For example, the recent-past General Secretary, who happened to be the first beneficiary of this new arrangement, is said to have been paid an amount of GH¢200,000 as an exit package.
The amount is realised from computing the gross salaries of the beneficiaries over a certain period, and this is given to the officers on their retirement as exit package.
Executives say it is the first time the association has decided on an exit package for its officials.
The acting General Secretary of GNAT, Mr M.V.V.K. Demanya, who is next in line to benefit from the new arrangement, as his retirement is due, would not confirm or deny the figure except to say it is not an issue for public consumption.
“Exit package is not an issue, but we won’t confirm...If the board decides, are they not working on behalf of set-ups,” he retorted when The Finder asked about the detail of the package.
The Public Relations Officer, Mr Peter Korda, on his part, said there was nowhere in the world where exit packages for officials of organisations are made public.
“Your readers do not need that, and it is not done in any organisation; there is nowhere in the world where this is done,” he said.
It will be until the next three years when the association goes for congress that teachers would be made aware of how their contributions are remunerating their executives.
Issues of corruption, conflict of interest and wanton dissipation of teachers’ cash by officials who profess to be working in the interest of the association have been subjects of investigation in the association.
In one of the findings by a committee of enquiry into allegations of corruption in GNAT, it was established, for example, that the immediate-past General Secretary awarded a contract to her husband, who happened to be the sole bidder to undertake the GNAT Headquarters Telephone Exchange Project.
“The committee frowned on the award of contract to the General Secretary’s husband, especially as he was a sole bidder even though the committee established that Mr Gilbert K. Adanusa was qualified to execute the GNAT Headquarters Telephone Exchange Project”, the report noted.
In some other correspondents sighted by The Finder, an accountant of GNAT made payment of amounts on fraudulent cheques, leading to “huge losses to the association”.
The Deputy General Secretary, Administration and Labour Relations, Mr Awotwe Nkansah, who has been at the forefront of fighting malfeasance in the association, has been asked to go on a compulsory leave for making happenings in the association public.
“Management is concerned that you have adopted an approach of using the media (e.g. Citi & Adom FM radio stations , The Finder newspaper) for bringing down the association and its key officers,” the letter asking Mr Awotwe to proceed on leave stated in part.
Meanwhile, Mr Awotwe has petitioned the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) over allegations of serious corruption in the association.
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