Former Deputy Finance Minister, Dr. Alex Ampaabeng, has strongly rejected claims of last-minute mass recruitment in December 2024, describing the recent dismissals of newly appointed public sector workers as a political witch hunt meant to discredit the previous administration.
“These actions are nothing but pure political witch-hunting and a way to paint a negative picture of the past administration,” he stated in a Facebook this portal sighted, calling for the reinstatement of those affected.
He clarified that the last financial clearance for recruitment was issued to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) services on 30th November 2024.
According to him, the application for clearance was originally submitted in April 2024, but due to bureaucratic delays, final approval came months later. “I’ll challenge anyone with contrary information to come out,” he added.
Dr. Ampaabeng explained that financial clearance was never granted arbitrarily. “For every financial clearance issued, I worked with the relevant ministry and the technical team within the Ministry of Finance to assess the need and the financial implications.
“In most cases, the numbers were slashed to align with the government’s commitments,” he said, citing the case of TVET services, which requested 8,375 staff but received approval for only 250 to meet urgent staffing needs.
He also dismissed allegations of rushed recruitment at the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), revealing that the decision to hire new staff was made as early as July 2024 during a board meeting, where he was present.
“The management presented a business case for the need to augment the staff strength at GRA in response to the government’s Domestic Revenue Mobilization (DRM) directions. The board agreed with the management for recruitment to start. The process started right after and continued till November 2024,” he explained.
He emphasized that the rigorous hiring process—written exams and face-to-face interviews—made it impossible for recruitment to have been rushed after the elections. “No chance could all these processes be completed post elections. Absolutely no chance!” he stressed.
Expressing frustration over the dismissals, Dr. Ampaabeng condemned the psychological toll on affected graduates. “Sadly, all those who were employed have been sacked. How can we subject our young graduates to this psychological trauma?” he lamented.
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