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WHEN SALARIES ARE NOT PAID: THE IMO EXPERIENCE

I was in a church service last Sunday when in the cause of a man’s testimony he revealed that he has not received salary since the last six months. I looked at him the second time and remembered that the man has children. I lost concentration in the service and started imaging what the man will be going through and the problems he will encounter in trying to meet up with the demands of this capitalist society. Life is incomplete, in fact meaningless if you cannot raise your voice against the problems.

Yes, I agree that there is a cut down in the allocation going to states but does that mean that the allocation does not come every month as to see to the welfare of workers pending when the situation improves to accommodate infrastructural development. What is the rational for giving priority to white elephant projects as against the welfare of citizens?, for the government is busy destroying houses and electric poles,(along Orlu road) in the name of road construction at this time of the year when the clouds are heavy.
The first priority of every government going by the 1999 constitution as amended is the security and welfare of her citizens. It is an abuse of the fundamental rights of citizens not to pay them after working for a whole month and the governor of the state was quoted as saying that he needs about 200 civil servants to govern the state. The Governor’s office was created through the constitution, so also that of the workers, hence the governor cannot go against the provisions of the law. Apart from that, it is also morally wrong considering the current economic realities.
Who even told the government that the money paid to workers is useless compared to the one used in the construction of roads. Even though I am not an economist, I do have some primary knowledge of how the economy runs.  When workers are paid, they don’t just devour the money, they use the money to buy things at the market which in turn stimulates economic activities within the area, crime rate will go down and the government will get more money through an effective tax policy. Contrast this with what happens at the construction sector where white’s elephant’s projects are awarded to foreign contractors who take the huge profits back to their parent States (countries). Also remember that these projects are not properly executed, hence most of them barely outlive the life span of the administration. For instance in Owerri the capital city of Imo state, the road leading to Bala suye (Okigwe road) from FMC was constructed few months ago (this year) but as at today it is damaged.
When salaries are not paid economic activities in the state are affected and the government also loses money that is if it is an economy that depends on tax to finance projects. When salaries are not paid there is no government. I don’t care how and where the money comes from; every government must pay her workers. This is not also of talk of Imo Pensioners who are owed over 30 month arrears. It is inhuman and a crime against humanity for us to treat the aged who put in 35 years of their lives working to improve our state.
I am not suggesting the abandonment of infrastructural development in the state because if roads and other infrastructural facilities are constructed majority of the Imo people will benefit. However, it is important for the government to understand that human life is more important than any other aspect of our development, hence we must value it. In sane and civilized clans senior citizens and the unemployed youths are provided with the necessaries of life (especially food) free of charge because it is upon these bases that the quality of development in any society is measured. It is not a privilege to pay workers their salaries; it is the right of every worker. The governor is holding that office in trust for the Imo people; thus their welfare should be first on the agenda of government policies and programmes.

UWAKWE ROLAND

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