Former Vice-president Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has expressed concern over what described as unfair dismissals of workers in the public sector by the Mahama administration.
Such dismissals, in the former Vice-President’s view, are disturbing and betray the trust Ghanaians reposed in the National Democratic Congress and its 2024 leader and now President to reset the country.
“It is ironic that a party which campaigned on the wings of jobs for all Ghanaians is arbitrarily dismissing the same Ghanaians, rendering them jobless, just because a different government employed them to put their talents to bear on the nation’s development and earn income to cater for themselves and their families,” he stated in a release.
Dr. Bawumia’s concern comes on the hills of revocation of appointments of some public sector employees following a directive from the Presidency.
In a memo dated February 10, 2025 and signed by the Chief of Staff Julius Debrah, the Presidency directed all heads of government institutions to annul all recruitments and appointments made after December 7, 2024 and submit a “comprehensive” report on the annulment to the Presidency by February 17, 2025.
The Presidency argued that such appointments and recruitments were not done in accordance with laid down procedure hence, the directive to terminate them.
But Dr. Bawumia said the employees were legitimately engaged but have been targeted by the Mahama administration simply because they were employed under the New Patriotic Party’s government.
“In some of the cases, the only reason for dismissal was that the persons whose livelihoods have been destroyed are known to or related to politicians as if to suggest that they cannot live independent professional lives, however qualified they are.”
He added, “Regrettably, these dismissals have been extended to directors who are public servants and not politicians”.
Dr. Bawumia further expressed worry over what he said is, “a general atmosphere of insecurity with attacks on journalists, the use of our military to raid the homes of former government officials and communities, as well as mobs attacking innocent individuals and state institutions”.
This, he said, is deeply troubling as it smacks of a military takeover rather a peaceful democratic transition of power.
He, thus, called on the President “to be a president for all Ghanaians by putting a stop to these developments, reversing the unfair dismissals, and protecting all our citizens”.
For him, “Ghanaians understood the promise of change to mean discarding the ills associated with the governance of our nation since 1992 and also an opportunity to show the way for future governments”.
They, therefore, did not expect the current administration to repeat the ills of the past.
Doing so, in his view, will be betraying the confidence they reposed in Mahama and his government.
