In its quest to cut the soaring public sector wage bill, Government has directed the Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) to restrict the recruitment of employees.
According to government, the move, which is one of the objectives of the Public Sector Reforms, is to determine the number of employees that are needed to effectively deliver public services. Public Sector Reforms, which was introduced by government, had become critical because of the heavy burden of the wage bill on the country�s resources.
The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Kwabena Duffuor stated that �selective hiring is not a freeze on employment in the public sector but a means to control the growing wage bill.�
He made the disclosure in Parliament after the Member of Parliament (MP) for Akim Swedru, Joseph Ampomah Bosompem inquired about measures that the government was putting in place to address the unemployment situation in Ghana.
He mentioned that the wage bill of government between 2002 and 2008, absorbed over 44 percent of the total tax revenue, stressing that �this number is expected to rise to over 53 percent by end 2010.� Dr. Duffuor hinted that the directive was issued as part of guidelines on Public Sector Reforms and Pay Roll Management Policy, which were instituted in May 2007.
Under the policy, new recruits are to be employed to replace those who leave the public service. �Madam Speaker, the policy on selective hiring freeze simply means that the MDAs that have reached their establishment limits cannot recruit new people, but can only replace outgoing staff,� the Minister explained.
Dr. Duffuor pointed out that in line with the selective hiring freeze Policy, MDAs would be required to obtain financial clearance from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning before new appointments are made.
However, he intimated that the policy would not affect the Ministries of Education and Health and MDAs who have not reached their employment limits, stressing that �they were currently filling existing vacancies.�
The minister said, �In 2009, government provided financial clearance for the employment of over 26,529 new officers into the public sector. �Out of the total number of people who were recruited last year, 14,206 were sent to the education sector and 11,714 to the health sector, with 609 for the remaining MDAs,� he added.
The Akim Swedru MP, who was not convinced with the answers provided by the Minister said, �Every year, over 300,000 graduates come out of tertiary institutions, but now that government is reducing employment. Where will they go?�
Rebutting a statement from the MP for Akim Swedru, Dr. Duffour said, �As you can see, there is nothing like a freeze on employment.� However, he assured the House that measures were being put in place to stimulate productivity and growth of the private sector, indicating that �this measure would help absorb the youth.�
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