YEA ‘staff movements’ will cost Ghana GHC12m – NDC MPs raise alarm

The Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) Caucus is accusing the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) of a deliberate ploy to force staff of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) employed by the previous government to resign.

In their view, the ongoing staff transfers en-bloc at the YEA to various regions without recourse to the Act establishing the Agency and the Public Services Commission Act 1994 clearly demonstrates the intent of the new management public agency.

Some staff of the YEA have been served letters signed by the Acting Regional Directors on behalf of the CEO releasing them from their respective regions to various under the name “Staff Movements.”

The affected staff are to report to the various Regional Directors in other Regions for reassignment.

However, the Minority NDC MPs believe that such initiative being carried by the new management of the YEA is a bad one which comes with great cost to the nation.

Addressing journalists over their concerns regarding the way and manner in which the affairs of the YEA is being conducted Justin Kodua administration, Ranking Member of the Youth & Sports and Culture Committee, Kobena Woyome, said they have every reason to believe that the “Staff Movements” will set the Agency aback easily six months in lost time and productivity.

The country, he added, will further incur losses in the region of GH?12,000,000.00 in the said exercise.

“The cost implication in this exercise, thus, mandatory transfer grants and settlements to the YEA is going to be in the region GH?12,000,000.00. This money can be used to train Assistants at the Police Training School and in addition, pay them for one whole year on the program. So, these transfers are simply not the best use of the country’s scarce resources,” he noted.

The Minority NDC group, Mr. Woyome argued, strongly believes that that the “Staff Movements” is an attempt by the governing NPP to remove the affected staff from office to make way for their friends, family, and political apparatchiks.