2023 Budget: Sad feelings greet government’s hiring freeze for civil, public servants

Scores of residents in Kumasi have expressed displeasure and sad feelings about the government’s intention to put an embargo on hiring civil and public servants in 2023. 

According to the Finance Minister, Mr. Ken Ofori Atta in the 2023 Budget presented to the Parliament of Ghana on November 24, this year, the government was implementing the measure to resolve the current “daunting economic challenges facing our nation head-on and reset the economy”. 

However, deeply among some residents in Kumasi, the freeze on employment and no establishment of new government agencies in 2023 was not the way to go, as more youth were still looking for jobs in the public sector despite the spring-up of some private institutions. 

Reacting to the news in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Kumasi, Ms Mary Osae, a National Service Personnel pointed out that the decision by the government had demoralised most of the national service persons, since some of them had hoped to be retained at the government institutions they were currently serving in. 

She explained that, “I am in no way linked to the government’s new models YouStart, Economic Enclaves, 1D1F among others, because the course I studied at the tertiary level has no bearing with these interventions. 

‘I was hoping I could be retained at where I am serving now,” she sighed. 

Maame Yaa Serwaa, a trader at Adum, had the fear that the public sector employment freeze could arouse a lot of criminal and indecent activities since it was the youth that would be affected most. 

She suggested that, the government channelled more funds to support job creation in the public and civil sectors, where most jobs were permanent and secured. 

Mr Joseph Dogbey, a graduate nurse awaiting his postings expressed fear of the government suspending postings of trainee nurses. 

He told the GNA that, he had been waiting for his postings since 2020, and the decision by the government was giving him no hope of a job any time soon. 

According to Mr Ofori Atta, “the government cares deeply about our people, and is very much concerned about their current plight and the future of our country. 

The 2023 Budget has been prepared with high consideration for the aspirations of Ghanaians and the brighter prospects of our economy to transition into Upper Middle Income within a decade, he stated.  

Other people who spoke to the GNA on the general overview of the 2023 Budget, however, said nothing in the budget presented depicted a true path of progression for Ghana. 

They said since the cedi continued to depreciate, the agenda of mobilizing the domestic revenue with increasing the VAT rate by 2.5 percent among other adjustments, were still going to affect the people’s socio-economic lives.