The government has officially revoked 541 public sector recruitments, appointments, and promotions made after the December 7, 2024 general elections, following a detailed review by a presidential committee established to scrutinise last-minute hirings during the transition period of the previous Akufo-Addo administration.
Presidential Spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu announced the outcome at a press briefing on Tuesday, describing the exercise as a deliberate effort to enforce due process and accountability rather than a politically driven purge.
According to Mr Kwakye Ofosu, the outgoing administration faced accusations of rushing through a significant number of public sector appointments in the lame-duck period between the election result and the January 7, 2025 handover — a pattern critics say has characterised past political transitions in Ghana.
The Mahama administration stated that it had formally requested a joint review of these appointments during the transition, but the request was ignored by the previous government.
Upon assuming office, the Chief of Staff issued a directive instructing all public institutions to revoke appointments concluded after December 7, 2024. The directive drew criticism for being overly broad and potentially affecting legitimate, merit-based hires.
To address these concerns, a presidential committee was constituted to conduct an institution-by-institution assessment and distinguish between compliant and non-compliant cases.
The committee reviewed a total of 2,080 recruitments, appointments, and promotions across 36 institutions.
Of these, 28 institutions had initiated their recruitment processes before the December 7 elections.
Thirteen institutions had already revoked appointments in line with the Chief of Staff’s directive, while 17 others sought further guidance from the Office of the President.
Of the 2,080 cases, 879 had been cancelled by the institutions themselves prior to the committee’s review.
The committee examined the remaining 1,201 cases and recommended that 1,539 of the total 2,080 appointments be upheld. These met established procedural requirements, with letters issued before December 7, 2024, and achieved a compliance score of 80 per cent or higher.
The remaining 541 cases were recommended for revocation. Mr Kwakye Ofosu explained that these failed on two key grounds: the recruitment processes were finalised after December 7, and they fell short of the required compliance standards.
Interestingly, the 541 revocations endorsed by the committee are fewer than the 879 already cancelled by institutions under the initial directive.
The spokesperson attributed this difference to special clemency granted to vulnerable individuals, particularly persons with disabilities recruited into the Ghana Education Service.
“Some of our compatriots who suffered some disability… their recruitment should be revoked because it did not comply with the laid-down process. But because of their peculiar situation and the hardship that could be imposed upon them if we were to enforce this directive, they were given some clemency,” he said.
These individuals have been permitted to regularise their processes to remain in public service and continue earning a livelihood.
Kwakye Ofosu was critical of the previous administration, accusing it of knowingly approving non-compliant appointments despite awareness of procedural lapses and rejecting calls for consultation.
“The previous government was fully aware that basic requirements were not met in those cases and still went ahead to sanction them,” he stated.
He stressed, however, that the current administration’s actions were carried out “without malice or ill-feeling towards anyone” and represented “a necessary step to uphold the rule of law and ensure accountability.”
The government maintains that the review was conducted transparently and institutionally to safeguard public resources and restore confidence in recruitment processes.