The CEO of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) Edudzi Tamakloe is calling for a legal framework to prevent government appointment and recruitment within few months to general election.
Edudzi believes a law that bans an outgoing government from making appointments three months to election would be a great solution to addressing political appointment or recruitment concerns.
“We need to reform what has been the practice or the norms over the period. One way to do that is through legislation…Maybe we need to legislate and put it in the law that 3 months to an election there shouldn’t be major decisions taken by way of contracts, employment or mass recruitment,” he said on TV3’s the Key Points show on February 15, 2025.
His comments follow recent concerns regarding the termination of recruitments and appointments after December, 7 2024, undertaken by the Akuffo-Addo led government. A release dated February 10, 2025 by the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah ordered the termination of all such appointments.
“Consistent with Government pronouncement in relation to near end of tenure appointments and recruitments, I wish to bring to your attention that all appointments and recruitments made in the Public Services of Ghana after 7th December, 2024 are not in compliance with established good governance practices and principles,”
“Accordingly, all Heads of Government Institutions are hereby requested to take the necessary steps to annul any such appointments or recruitments and submit a comprehensive report on the actions taken to this Office by 17th February 2025,” the statement said.
While many party faithfuls have welcomed the directive, others, particularly, the minority and some institutions have raised concerns, arguing that such a directive is politically motivated.
In a X post following the directive, the Director of Communications of the NPP shared “Mr. Julius Debrah’s effort to invalidate the former administration’s decision is an affront to the Constitution and an imminent threat to our democracy. To the victims, I say insist on your civil and human rights. Go to court to stop this gross abuse of the Constitution, this is not what Ghanaians bargained for.”
Some aggrieved organisations, including the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association have protested the directive and warned that they would embark on an industrial action if the decision is not rescinded. “There is a lot of tension in our fraternity. If they go ahead with this, we will have no choice but to stand in solidarity with our colleagues. And solidarity means that if you ask them to stay at home, we will all stay at home,” Perpetual Ofori Ampofo, President of GRNMA said.
According to Perpetual, the dismissal of their workers per the directive is set to take a toll on their human resource capacity. She expressed that it is not fair that the workers would be sacked without proper clarifications and investigations.
“We are dealing with a healthcare system already under immense pressure. Units and departments are not meeting the ideal nurse-to-patient ratios. On top of that, we are losing professionals to high-income countries. Now, if we have successfully recruited nurses and midwives to bridge the gap, why suspend them? Why not investigate while they continue working?” she said.
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