The former Executive Secretary of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG), Dr Isaac Akuetteh Bampoe Addo, and his twin brother, Sidney Nii Oko Bampoe Addo, laid to rest in Accra after they were given a joint state funeral.
Dr Bampoe Addo, who died on Friday, August 21, this year at the age of 59, the Lighthouse Hospital in Accra after a short illness.
His twin brother, Sidney, a Deputy Director at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, died on Monday, September 14, also at the age of 59.
The deaths of the two brothers, which occurred within weeks of each other, threw their family, colleagues and members of organised labour into mourning.
The Vice-President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, attended the funeral.
Other dignitaries present included the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Bagbin; the Chief of Staff, Dr Julius Debrah; the Minister for Sports and Recreation, Mr Kofi Iddie Adams; the Chief Executive Officer of GoldBod, Mr Sammy Gyamfi; and the Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II.
Also present was the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Commissioner of Police (COP) Lydia Yaako Donkor, alongside CLOGSAG members and other mourners.
The joint funeral brought together public servants, trade union leaders, government officials, traditional authorities and family members, who gathered to honour the memory of the twin brothers.
Colleagues and members of organised labour paid tribute to Dr Bampoe Addo for his contribution to workers’ representation and the development of CLOGSAG.
They said that under his leadership, CLOGSAG developed relationships with local government, civil service and other public service unions in Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Zambia and the United States.
According to them, those relationships strengthened opportunities for exchange, solidarity and peer learning among union leaders.
“Mr Addo leaves behind a legacy of leadership, institutional building, solidarity, internationalism and commitment to workers’ dignity,” the tribute stated.
It said Dr Bampoe Addo’s vision extended beyond traditional collective bargaining to wider economic and fiscal policies affecting workers and public services.
They indicated that at the time of his death, he was advocating for the establishment of a Committee of Economists, Tax Experts and Lawyers, supported by the Public Services International (PSI) Tax Justice Campaign.
The tribute said the initiative reflected his conviction that fair taxation and adequate domestic resource mobilisation were essential to financing quality public services and advancing social justice.
It added that his contribution would continue to live through CLOGSAG’s PSI, the Young Workers’ Education and Mentorship Programme, the Network in Her Build and the Struggles for Justice, to which he devoted his life.
President John Dramani Mahama, in a tribute contained in the funeral brochure and headed “Tribute by the President and People of Ghana”, described the deaths of the twin brothers as a double loss to their family and the nation.
He said the brothers came into the world together and left it within weeks of each other.
“For their family, the loss is doubled. For the nation, it is the loss of two men who gave their working lives to public service,” President Mahama wrote.
The President said the late CLOGSAG leader fought for better conditions of service, negotiated salaries and allowances, worked to secure pensions and built welfare and housing schemes for public servants.
He also paid tribute to Sidney, saying his data on crop production, prices and the national food supply informed policy.
“Every government needs both, a workforce that is respected, and decisions grounded in evidence,” the President wrote.
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