I don't know of any devil called 'protocol' in employment - Baffour Awuah

The minister-designate for Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, has wondered what the term 'protocol' is within the employment sector of the country.

He said that it comes to him as a surprise that there is any such thing in the processes involved in employments into particularly public institutions in the country.

He was responding to a question posed to him by a member of the Appointments Committee of Parliament during his vetting for the designated position.

He explained that the term he is familiar with is 'favours' that people ask of political appointees because of their fore-knowledge of them and insisted that the situation does not pertain purely to public office.

He however stated that with the digitalization of recruitments in the country, many of such things have been eliminated.

Mahama Ayariga: “What is the devil known as protocol in recruitment into public institutions and agencies? Can you explain the word, ‘protocol’? are you willing to pass a law outlawing this discriminatory and unconstitutional practice called ‘protocol’ into public institutions?

Baffour-Awuah: “To confess, I don’t know of any devil called ‘protocol’. (laughs) Devil called ‘protocol’? I do not know anything about that but if you are referring to favors that people seek because of the knowledge that people have with people in charge, I must say that that creates an uneven platform for all persons to compete when there’s an offer.

"Sometimes, we limit this to political appointees and what have you but I must say that in practice, it is even broader than that because somebody may know you as a Member of Parliament but he may have known you as his school mate and will come to you using that window for an opportunity. Somebody may know you as a church member and may ask for certain favours from you. If that is what you are referring to as protocol, then I can say that yes it exists in our society. But I also want to believe that the recent usage of digital space in public business, some of these things are being eliminated,” he said.