The plan by Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Ghana Limited to lay off workers and the position of the Bureau of Public Safety (BPS) on imposition of $150 as fees for Covid-19 test on all international travelers arriving in Ghana by the government are some of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Thursday.
The Graphic reports that Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Ghana Limited is set to lay off a number of jobs due to a collapse in business which has been worsened by the coronavirus pandemic.
An internal memo dated August 31 and signed by the Business Unit Managing Director WAC of the Company, Felix Gomis, said the redundancies had become necessary to help keep the business viable.
According to the memo, which was addressed to all staff of the company, the Chief Labour Officer of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, has already been informed of the company’s intention which will be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Section 65 of the Labour Act 2003 (ACT 651).
“In accordance with Section 65 (2), all affected employees shall receive a “Redundancy Pay” and in lieu of notice, a payment shall be made for the notice period, where necessary. The leadership of the respective Trade Unions, ICU and UNICOF, have in accordance with law been notified, and management will be with them to discuss the terms and conditions of the severance,” the memo said.
“After the Unions and the Management have agreed the terms and conditions of the severance, the details shall be communicated to the affected staff through their Line Managers,” it added.
The newspaper says that the Bureau of Public Safety (BPS) has labeled government’s imposition of $150 as fees for Covid-19 test on all international travelers arriving in the country as a grave violation of International Health Regulations.
BPS has consequently asked for the immediate withdrawal of the $150 testing fee per traveler.
According to the a statement issued in Accra on Wednesday, petitioning the Health Minister, BPS wants the government to rather enforce a 14-day mandatory self-isolation regime for passengers arriving without a PCR test (used to directly detect the presence of an antigen) taken within the preceding 72 hours prior to arrival, and also maintain a 72-hour prior-take-off/travel testing requirement.
“As a socially engaged and committed organization, the BPS wholeheartedly welcomes efforts to stop the spread of the novel corona virus. However, we find the Government’s decision to mandatorily levy all travelers a $150 USD testing fee a grave violation of Part VII of the International Health Regulations (2005), which states, inter alia, that ‘Except for travelers seeking temporary or permanent residence, no charge shall be made by a State Party for any medical examination provided for in the IHR, or any supplementary examination which may be required by that State Party to ascertain the health status of the traveler examined for the protection of public health.’ (Article 40 Para 1, & 1(a)).”
The Graphic also reports that the Ministry of Communications has welcomed the Accra High Court’s dismissal of the application by the telecommunications giant, MTN, to stop the National Communications Authority (NCA) from taking corrective measures against the company as a significant market player (SMP).
The Minister of Communications, Mrs. Ursula Owusu Ekuful, in an interaction with the media after the launch of the upgraded COVID-19 symptom tracker app yesterday, said it was unhealthy for any country to have a single dominant telecommunications operator that had about 70 percent share of revenue and 60 percent share of the total market.
“We need to do something about the uneven, lopsided market that we have; it is not healthy. I expect the NCA to continue the work that it started in 2016 and complete it, so that we have a healthy competitive climate for the industry to thrive, not just for one player but for all players in the telecoms sector to succeed.
“I want the regulator to sit with all players in the industry and develop sustainable mechanisms to address the current imbalance and ensure that this does not happen again,” the minister said.
The Times reports that the National Democratic Party (NDP), will this weekend hold a twin delegates conference to endorse former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, as the flag-bearer of the party.
The two-day conference, which would be held tomorrow, September 4, and Saturday, September 5, 2020, in Accra, would also be used to deliberate on issues pertaining to the party, and deepen the nationwide structures of the party.
The National Communications Director of the party, Maame Yaa Edusei, told the Ghanaian Times that the party would hold a plenary session to mainly discuss the party’s constitution on Friday.
She added that, the party would organise its delegates’ conference, to acclaim the flagbearer, and outdoor her running mate.
Maame Edusei said the party would present its elected national executives to steer the affairs of the party for the next four years.
She stated that the delegates for this year’s conference would be drawn from all the 16 regions of Ghana, numbering eighty, in compliance with the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) protocol.
GIK/APA