Lawyer Kofi Bentil, Senior Vice President of the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education (IMANI Africa), has weighed in on the new government’s dismissals, calling out the Akufo-Addo government for overburdening the system with last-minute employment contracts.
He argued that such practices are not only irresponsible but also economically damaging.
Ghana’s political landscape is once again grappling with the fallout of last-minute public sector appointments.
As a new administration takes charge, a familiar cycle plays out; mass employment in the final days of an outgoing government, followed by mass dismissals under the new regime.
This has sparked yet another heated debate on governance, economic prudence, and political ethics.
“I am very sympathetic, unemployment is not an easy thing but it doesn’t help anybody… when you give somebody an employment which is not productive, you hurt the person, you hurt the economy”
Lawyer Kofi Bentil, Senior Vice President of the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education (IMANI Africa)
Bentil maintained that these hasty recruitments often lack justification and do little to contribute to national productivity. He, therefore, supports the dismissals being carried out by the current government, emphasizing the need for political maturity to break the cycle.
“When somebody has won an election fair and square, based on articulating a certain set of policies you should give them space to operate. They should, you know, operationalize what they have come to do for which they were voted into power.
“You don’t put them in a certain situation where you lump them with this kind of burden and then they have to come and find a way to resolve it. The law of it is simple, anybody on probation can resign without note and in the same way, they can be sacked without note”
Lawyer Kofi Bentil, Senior Vice President of the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education (IMANI Africa)
He advocated that people who are politically recruited at the eleventh hour without due process can and should be removed at the discretion of the new government.
These arguments raise critical questions about governance in Ghana: Why does every outgoing government feel the need to choke the public sector with its people? Why can’t the new government just overlook these appointments? Is there a way to break this cycle, or is this just the nature of Ghanaian politics?
The Costs of Last-Minute Appointments
Beyond politics, the economic implications of rushed appointments are severe. Bentil pointed out that employing people without a clear productivity framework harms both the individuals and the economy.
He argued that when people are given jobs merely for political reasons, rather than based on need and skillset, it diminishes their self-worth and leads to inefficiency in the public sector.
“There is politics, there’s economics, there’s morality, there is law,” Bentil stated, highlighting the multiple dimensions of the issue. “You hurt the whole economy by paying that person for no productivity. You just create inflation.”
His concern is not just about wasteful spending but also the long-term effect on governance.
When resources are misallocated, it forces the incoming administration to clean up the mess, often by reversing appointments, leading to more economic and social instability.
The political back-and-forth also creates job insecurity and weakens confidence in public sector employment. For those affected, these dismissals feel like political victimization.
The counter-argument, however, is that those employed had a legitimate expectation of job security. If they were qualified and followed due process, why should they be dismissed just because there has been a change in government?
This debate exposes the deeper dysfunction in Ghana’s governance system, where political loyalty often determines who gets a public sector job, rather than merit.
It also fuels the argument that public institutions remain an extension of ruling parties rather than independent bodies serving national interests.
The Majority Leader Hon. Mahama Ayariga has made it clear that the NDC government stands by its decision to terminate the appointments.
“That is why this government is reversing those recruitments, because we told you, we warned you, we cautioned you, and you refused and you insisted and you recruited. And we have no regrets reversing those recruitments”
Hon. Mahama Ayariga, Majority Leader in Parliament
Bentil’s comments reflect the government’s belief that these appointments were made in bad faith, an attempt to politically entrench people in the system before leaving office.
A Legal Solution
“The cure is for us to grow up or better still for our leaders to grow up and I don’t mean it flippantly” he stated.
Bentil believes the best way to address this recurring issue is through legislative intervention.
He suggested amending the “Transitional Act” to prevent outgoing governments from making major appointments close to an election unless absolutely necessary.
This, he argued, would provide stability and ensure that employment decisions are based on national interest rather than political expediency.
“If we cannot respect ourselves or conduct ourselves properly, then we should put this in the Transitional Act, make it a law,” he said. “That once the election is determined, or even if you like, a month or so to the election, no major recruitments may be made.”
Such a law would require any emergency recruitment during a transition period to be done with the full knowledge and agreement of the incoming government.
This could help end the practice of last-minute political hires while still allowing for necessary staffing in critical sectors.
“It is just not right to fill the system with people that you did not employ when you were there and expect that somebody will come and deal with them”
Lawyer Kofi Bentil, Senior Vice President of the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education (IMANI Africa)
Ghana’s democracy has matured in many ways, but this aspect of governance remains stuck in a vicious cycle. Every new administration complains about the excesses of its predecessor, only to repeat the same mistakes when their turn to exit comes.
Will Ghanaian leaders ever break this cycle? Or will every transition continue to be a political purge, where public sector jobs are treated as political rewards rather than professional careers?
Bentil believes the dismissals will continue for now, and the debate will rage on. Until concrete reforms are implemented, the public sector will remain vulnerable to political interference hurting both the economy and the very people these jobs are meant to serve.
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