The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has defended the dismissal of public workers hired under the previous administration, citing “malicious recruitments” as the primary concern.
According to Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, President John Mahama is not sacking everyone employed under the last administration, but rather addressing the questionable hiring practices that occurred after the elections.
“President Mahama is not sacking everybody employed under the last administration. That is not what is happening. If you were employed before the transition, you are fine,” Ablakwa stated, emphasizing that the focus is on the “malicious recruitments” made after the elections.
Speaking on Joy Fm, Okudzeto Ablakwa explained that his own ministry had reviewed employment records and confirmed that financial clearance was granted as far back as July by the Finance Ministry, with budget allocations made to hire additional staff that year.
However, some employees received their appointment letters in November and December, which raised concerns about the timing and motivations behind these hires.
“At the Foreign Ministry, I have explained to the President that what we have seen is that the process started much earlier, so not a single person at the Foreign Ministry is being dismissed,” Okudzeto Ablakwa said, highlighting the distinction between legitimate hires and those made with questionable intentions.
The Minister emphasized that other ministries had also conducted similar assessments and confirmed that where due process was followed, employees were not being let go.
However, the NDC’s concern lies with the “malicious recruitments” made after the elections, which Ablakwa believes every government would take issue with.
“I think that what we can learn from this is that when we are in power and there is space and we know we can employ people, let us employ them and let’s not wait and keep them unemployed until you lose an election and you want to create fiscal burden for your opponent,” Ablakwa said, urging future administrations to recruit at the right time rather than delaying recruitment until after losing an election.
The NDC’s defense of the public workers’ dismissal comes amid concerns raised by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Minority Leader, who have argued that the dismissals violate job security provisions in the 1992 Constitution and the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651).
-BY Daniel Bampoe
