No recruitment took place in December – Dr. Alex Ampaabeng

A former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Alex Ampaabeng, has dismissed claims that mass recruitment took place in December 2024, demanding the reinstatement of newly employed workers dismissed following the change of government.

His statement follows a recent government directive revoking the appointments of several newly recruited public sector workers. Issued in February 2025, the directive cited concerns that these appointments were made in the final hours of the previous administration without proper financial clearance.

Affected workers, many of whom had successfully undergone competitive recruitment processes, were handed dismissal letters, sparking widespread outcry and accusations of political victimization.

But in a statement, Dr. Ampaabeng insisted that no government agency received financial clearance to hire during that period.

“I can confirm that no government ministry or agency was given financial clearance to start recruitment in December 2024. The last clearance issued was for TVET services on November 30, 2024, and even that took months of back and forth before approval,” he stated.

Dr. Ampaabeng, who oversaw financial clearances during his tenure, challenged anyone with contrary evidence to prove otherwise.

“For every financial clearance issued, we worked with the relevant ministries and technical teams to assess the need and financial impact. In many cases, the requested numbers were slashed to align with government commitments. TVET, for example, requested 8,375 staff but was approved for only 250 to fill urgent vacancies,” he explained.

He further expressed outrage over the termination of Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) recruits, emphasizing that their hiring process started months before the 2024 elections and followed due diligence.

“At a board meeting in July 2024, of which I was a member, management presented a strong business case for recruitment to support the government’s Domestic Revenue Mobilization strategy. The process started right after—written exams, face-to-face interviews—there was absolutely no chance all of this happened post-election. None!” he emphasized.

Dr. Ampaabeng believes the dismissals are politically motivated and aimed at discrediting the previous administration.

“This is nothing but an attempt to paint the past government in a bad light. How do you sack young graduates who have gone through a rigorous hiring process? How do you subject them to such psychological trauma after finally securing jobs?” he questioned.

Dr. Ampaabeng reiterated that, during his time in office, total financial clearance granted across all ministries and agencies was less than 1,300, proving that most recruitments predated his appointment in April 2024.

“So where is all this noise coming from? The data is there. The numbers are clear. If anyone has different figures, they should come forward,” he challenged.

He called on the government to reverse the dismissals and honour its commitment to job creation.

“The affected individuals are Ghanaians, just like everyone else. They deserve the right to serve their country. If this administration truly believes in jobs for the youth, then the honourable thing to do is to reinstate them,” he concluded.

The mass terminations have sparked growing public concern, with critics questioning the rationale behind the dismissals and calling for a fair review of the affected appointments.

In response to the controversy, the Ghana Education Service (GES) has established a three-member committee to validate and potentially reinstate the affected teachers. The committee, comprising the Regional Human Resource Officer, Regional Internal Auditor, and Regional Accountant, is tasked with verifying the credentials of the dismissed staff.

Affected individuals must submit their appointment letters, academic certificates, licensure certificates, and national service certificates by March 14, 2025. This initiative aims to cleanse the payroll database and ensure that only qualified personnel are retained.

Meanwhile, health minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has refuted claims that any health workers have been dismissed, emphasizing that no health sector employees have been affected by the recent terminations, countering reports suggesting otherwise.