Information from a source within the leadership of UTAG says that leading members of the association have been paid huge sums of money to keep quiet in the face of intensified galamsey operations across mining areas.
At a meeting attended by some of the leaders who are now appointees of the Mahama administration, the association is to remain silent on the growing levels of illegal mining activities plaguing the country.
“It’d not be in the interest of the government to be bashed at this time when some of our members are now occupying positions in government. Much as galamsey is a worrying phenomenon, let us exercise restraint for now till further notice” a leading member of UTAG advised.
Though a few of the leaders were reluctant to go by the advice, it took the government’s functionaries at the meeting to convince them to agree to the deal.
Whispers Media Network has learned that each member present was given GHs300,000 to buy their silence.
It was also agreed at the meeting that to ensure that members keep their positions and to keep new members in check, new rules were promulgated and endorsed by members present.
This time, Whispers Media Network can state on authority that the universities have been zoned. This means that not everyone can contest just any position.
The positions per zone were strategically done to ensure that pro NPP universities can’t contest some key positions.
UTAG’s Presidency, according to the new rules adopted at the meeting, strictly can only be contested by lecturers from the University of Ghana, the Vice President’s position to be contested by UEW lecturers while UPSA can only contest for the treasurer position.
This in effect means that in the next election, the portfolios move to other zones and they decide which university can contest what, according to the source.
This is why UTAG has been deafeningly quiet over the recent rise in illegal mining activities.
It could be recalled that UTAG, in collaboration with Organized Labour and other workers’ unions, chastised the Akufo-Addo government for not rooting out galamsey.
They also asked for a state of emergency to be declared by the then government which would have stopped all forms of mining in the country.
They also demanded a repeal of the LI that allowed entities authorized by the President to mine in forested lands.
Four months into the Mahama administration, none of those demands UTAG made under Akufo-Addo has been met or complied with, yet the association is quiet.
The latest meeting which, WMN understands, was a sequel to an earlier one, made sure that the association’s leadership kept quiet till further notice.
WMN.