The proposed project for the construction of a new complex for the Ghana labour College has stalled.
The prolonged stalling of the project, which is adversely affecting capacity building for the labour market, is pushing the College into extinction.
The dilapidated structure of the College, which is run under the auspices of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), was demolished about two years ago with an anticipation of the construction of a modern complex.
The construction of the five storey complex was expected to be funded by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), but the project has failed to take off for unexplained reasons.
A visit by ADR Daily to the project site at Ridge in Accra, found that the project has been abandoned. There was no activity at the site which has been overtaken by weeds and garbage.
There was no sign of plans for the project to start any time soon
Enquiries at both TUC and SSNIT about the project did not yield meaningful results as TUC officials indicated that they were waiting on SSNIT to offer information on when the project would begin, while officials said a clear decision was yet to be taken on the project.
A source at TUC told ADR Daily that the project may have been put on hold because of the current baseline audit the Trust in undergoing.
In June 2016, SSNIT announced in a statement that it would construct the new complex for the college as part of the Trust’s corporate social responsibility support of organized labour.
According to the release signed by the then Head of Corporate Affairs at SSNIT, Ms Eva Amegashie, the construction would be undertaken within 30 months and the property, when completed, would be donated to the TUC, which will “take absolute responsibility for its maintenance.”
The Ghana Labour College is the training institution that handles all the training and capacity objectives of the TUC, which oversees and regulates all the labour issues of the 17 labour unions in Ghana.
Prior to its demolition, the College encountered an avalanche of challenges including deplorable condition of physical wooden infrastructure, irregular water supply, inadequate and poor state of computer laboratories, and office accommodation.
Its absence means that unionists and other workers have to seek knowledge upgrade from other training institutions at a higher cost, and those who cannot afford would be adversely affected.
Courses being pursued at the College include labour economics, industrial relations, computer literacy, basic accounting, research methods and communication skills.
The rest are union management, interpretation and analysis of financial statements, gender and labour relations, occupational safety health and environment and labour legislations.
By: Fred Gadese-Mensah/adrdaily.com
