President John Dramani Mahama has directed the Public Services Commission (PSC) to start the implementation of the Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS). 

This is to ensure the centralisation, automation, and streamlining of human resource management processes for better efficiency and strategic decision-making in the public sector. 

The President gave the directive in his address at the opening of the PSC’s 12th Conference for chairmen and chief executive officers (CEOs) of public sector institutions in Ho, the Volta Regional Capital. 

The two-day event is on the theme, “Strengthening Public Sector Leadership and Governance for Better Service Delivery”. 

The President reiterated that one of the persistent challenges facing Ghana’s public administration was the lack of a centralised, integrated, and strong database.  

He said HRMIS thoroughly recorded recruitments, promotions, remunerations, and retirement processes across the public service.  

“You can’t understand why in the 21st century the government didn’t have a proper database of people that it employs,” he stated. 

“And so, nurses and teachers have to sit for God knows how many months unpaid until some slow, bureaucratic process goes from the district to the region, from the region to the headquarters, to the Minister of Finance, to the Auditor General. Please, we need HRMIS as soon as possible.” 

He noted that this fragmentation had caused inefficiencies, data inconsistencies, and reduced oversight. 

“It’s also part of the reason why ghosts, you know, come out of their graves and take money from our Accountant General’s Department,” he said. 

“So, to resolve this, I’m instructing all public service institutions, whether subvented or non-subvented, to be fully integrated into the human resource management information system.” 

President Mahama said this integration would establish the HRMIS as the single authoritative source of personnel data, ensuring accountability, transparency, and efficiency in human resource management across the nation’s entire public sector. 

President Mahama recalled that in 2015, the Public Service Commission, in collaboration with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and the Central Management Agencies, introduced the Performance Management System to enhance accountability and deliver better services.  

He said that although this system represented a vital reform, its implementation had encountered ongoing challenges, especially the weak link between productivity and reward.  

“All over the world today, rewards are associated with performance. But here, we have something we call across board. So, the lazy one gets, and the hardworking and the lazy ones receive the same.” 

He said that what it did deterred the hardworking ones from giving more than they could. 

“If we can put a performance management system in place, it should help us to overcome this weakness,” the President said. 

At the event, the PSC honoured President Mahama and Dr Callistus Mahama, the Executive Secretary to the President, for their outstanding contributions to the development of Ghana’s public service sector. 

Togbe Afede XIV, the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, President of Asogli Traditional Area, who chaired the function, said the success of every government programme required a strong public service, hence the need for continuous learning and education by public sector workers. 

Professor Victor Kwame Agyeman, Chairman, PSC, pledged the Commission’s commitment to support the President in the execution of his agenda for the nation.