It has emerged that claims by the Ministry for Roads and Highways that it replaced some 17 persons living with disabilities employed by the Ministry to sell tickets at the various toll booths across the country who were sacked with PWDs were false.
The Ministry had told parliament that some 17 PWDs were sacked for various offences including malfeasance, lateness, and among others.
In August this year, the Minister in charge of the Ministry Amaoko Atta appeared before Parliament after the Member of Parliament for Dr. Clement Apaak has demanded answers as why 25 PWDs employed by the government to man the toll booths have been sacked.
The Minister in his response disclosed that there are 37 Road toll. stations nationwide with the Ghana Highway Authority managing 18 with the remaining 19 managed by Toll and Routes Management Limited (TRML), a private firm.
He explained that the total number of workers employed was 661 out of 282 are persons living with disabilities constituting 43%.
He said there are 9 toll stations in Accra being managed by a private firm with a total workforce of 273 out of which 93 are PWDs representing 34%.
He further disclosed that in May 2020, it came to the attention of the Ministry that some PWDs had been sacked.
The Ministry investigated the matter and discovered that from November 2019 to May 2021, 17 PWDs were sacked for various offences.
Sixteen out of the 17 he claimed were replaced with PWDs as and when their appointment was terminated with one reinstated.
He insisted that not 25 were sacked as reported but 17.
However, it has emerged that 25 were sacked contrary to the 17 the Minister disclosed before Parliament in August 2021.
Dr. Apaak upon hearing the response demanded answers to whether the Ministry set a committee to investigate the allegations of financial malfeasance, absenteeism, and lateness on the part of the sacked PWDs and if the report was available.
In his response, he explained that the toll booths in question were being managed by a third-party company that was responsible for paying the PWDs and they are the ones responsible for the employment and related matters of their employees.
He said the PWDs were not employed directly by the Ministry and so, the private firm bears the liability and responsibility of their employees.
He added that it was not the responsibility of the Ministry to conduct the probe. However, the interest the government had in the matter showed that there was prima face evidence to prove that the sacked PWDs were guilty of the allegations.
However, some of them are agitating that the matter and claiming that they were treated unfairly.
Dr. Apaak had asked the Minister why he failed to verify the information since the affected PWDs had also assigned different reasons why they were sacked.
He said the reasons were different from what the PWDs had presented before the House.
This website has also gathered that it was actually 25 that were sacked and out of the number only three were recalled.
We have further gathered that there was another closure of toll station at Kubease in the Ashanti region and all the PWDs working there are at home for almost a year now
The minister had also promised to pay the PWDs until he expand the toll booth but up till now nothing of that sort has been made
and the people are in the house now jobless.
Some of that revealed their members were sacked due to faulty systems and not allegations the Minister alluded to.
Some of them explained that even when the white man was there, the system was not accurate and losses were made but he never sacked anybody because he knew that it was not their fault, but as soon as the white man left they compiled two months variances to sack our members, one of them said.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com.Ghana