The 2021 Aspirant for the position of the Greater Accra Regional Chairman for the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Felix Ofosu Asifu has revealed that he is confident he will win the upcoming election scheduled for July 27.
According to him, he will ensure that GNAT is transformed once he is given the nod.
In an exclusive interview with Thinknewsonline.com at his official campaign launch in Accra, Mr. Asifu said “As a leader, you don’t need to divide your followers. I am a team player and I lead a team. The team makes me a good leader so I seek to bring all members who form the team together as one so that we move and make Greater Accra work again. There is the need for us to have a change so that we can bring the old Greater Accra back"
He also hinted that after being elected as the Acting Chairman in 2016, he noticed every major decision which was taken had Greater Accra’s ideas sorted but for some time now the story has changed.
Mr. Asifu said “As a good leader, the first and foremost thing, you should know and do is to believe in people you work with. You should be able to delegate your powers for them to work with. I brought everybody on board, delegated my powers, monitored, gave them suggestions, and did not impose anything on them. That was the trick”
He, however, mentioned that teamwork was the secret to the successful District conference which was held at Nungua recently.
“I had all the five directors of Education including the 3 Members of Parliament in the district attending the conference and they were all full of praises for the way we organized the conference. In fact, they felt like teachers themselves. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate my Lieutenants especially my adorable vice. I give praises to her”
Reacting to GNAT’s hostel at Nungua, he said “I will look for sponsorship so that we put up an additional block to support the hostel because we do not have enough rooms. But to begin with, we have to make sure that the current blocks there are well maintained. The people must take good care of it"
The 2021 Aspirant for the position of the Greater Accra Regional Chairman for the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Felix Ofosu Asifu charged leaders not to be afraid of criticisms adding that it helps builds an individual.
“As a leader, you should not be afraid of criticisms, because, it is criticisms that will push you ahead. I will not use divide and rule. I will not accept words from people and push others away. Everybody’s voice will be heard but as a leader, my followers have to allow me to make the decisions. I will listen to everybody but let me take the decision”
He further hinted that the welfare of teachers is his priority adding that he will ensure teachers are given what is due them.
“Talk about salary issues, working conditions, it is bad but the teacher is expected to do magic. I want to appeal to the government to sit up, give us the tools to work, and organize workshops for us”
Mr. Asifu called on Ghana Education Service (GES) and Government to frequently organize workshops on teachers stressing that it is not the duty of GNAT to be training its members.
He said “It is the core mandate of the employer and for that matter, GES and the bus stops at Government. Let us sit up and take our education seriously"
Touching on the security of the teacher, he said “Security is in your own hands. Nobody can guarantee your security if you cannot. Once, you start taking good care of yourself, try and raise your security to a certain level, and then others will support you. The teaching field is a noble profession. If teachers stop teaching, life will grind to a halt”
The 2021 Aspirant for the position of the Greater Accra Regional Chairman for the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) concluded by saying the upcoming elections are not a do-and-die affair therefore, let peace ruin.
On their part, the Campaign Team for Felix Asifu also said "We believe in Mr. Felix Asifu. He is a unifier. He has good plans for GNAT and with him as a Chairman will see lots of changes. He is number 3 on the ballot. He is the 'Trinity'. He has the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit surrounding him. He will make us proud"
The Campaign Team charged voters not to be influenced by money but rather vote for Felix Asifu for a better GNAT.
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Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith