In a passionate defence of the National Democratic Congress (NDC)'s revocation of appointments made post-elections, the South African Council of Elders Chair for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Benjamin Kofi Quashie, has suggested that the Public Service of Ghana must function independently and professionally.
Highlighting the revocation of appointments and recruitments, he emphasized that appointments nuanced with politics should be discouraged going forward.
Contributing to a panel discussion on Joy News PM Express, Monday, 24th February 2025, on the topic, "Revocation of Appointments: Counting the Political and Socioeconomic Cost", he defended the Chief of Staff, Mr. Julius Debrah's actions, stressing they were done in good faith to sanitise employments made into the Public Service.
"The Public Service must always function independently and professionally; it should break free from political interference," he said.
In defending this posture of the NDC, Quashie underscored that the government's current actions are aimed at weeding out unqualified and unprofessional people from the Public Service and ensuring that competent and qualified people are employed to man our services.
Quashie emphasised the legitimacy of the dismissals by stating that their recruitment was politically motivated rather than being based on merit, qualifications, or national needs. He pointed out the timing after December 7th raises concerns about irregularities, rushed appointments and a deliberate attempt to overburden the incoming administration, giving the government the right to review and nullify last-minute appointments that did not follow due process.
In furtherance of his justification for the mass revocation of the recruitments, Quashie references the recent National Service Scheme (NSS) scandal, which exposed widespread corruption in public sector recruitment. To him, this serves as a strong justification for cleaning up the public sector, ensuring that all corruption-related individuals are removed, and reinforcing accountability in government institutions by preventing politically motivated and fraudulent appointments that undermine transparency, efficiency and national interest.
"The era in which the Public Service is used to reward political individuals or followers must cease forthwith", he stressed, adding that the state must ensure the Public Service works in the interest of and for the betterment of the Ghanaian people.
To achieve this, the SA Council Chair proffered that the government must ensure that employment opportunities are available to all qualified Ghanaians, not just those aligned with a particular political party. This, according to him, would offer many deserving candidates the opportunity to compete favourably for government employment opportunities.
Such actions are intended to curtail their being overlooked in favour of last-minute, politically influenced appointments, making it essential to follow proper recruitment processes that uphold fairness and transparency in hiring decisions.
Mr. Quashie expresses worry at the NPP's posture, highlighting the NPP has undertaken similar reviews and dismissals of politically motivated late appointments in their immediate past government. This happened because public sector appointments must follow proper procedures and approvals, and if these were bypassed, the appointments are void, especially when some were not captured in the national budget, making them financially unsustainable.
Assuring Ghanaians of the NDC's determination to do the right things, Quashie noted factually that the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has emphatically stated that the 15,200 nurses recruited between June and August 2024 will not be asked to go home, which further justifies the actions of the Chief of Staff regarding procedural lapses in post-election recruitments.
The NDC government, according to him, is committed to transparency and accountability in governance by protecting public institutions from political exploitation, ensuring that employment decisions are fair and justified, and guaranteeing that future employment processes are based on national interest rather than political advantage.
Conversely, "anybody recruited after December 7th, rather unfortunately, we would review those appointments," he noted.
As President Mahama prepares to give Ghanaians his first State of the Nation Address after swearing in, most Ghanaians are patiently waiting to assess how he answers such thorny issues as revocation of appointments at a time when youth unemployment is very high, and the steps his government intends to adopt to provide job opportunities for the youth.
