Constitutional Rights and Policy Strategy Advisor at the Democracy Hub, Oliver Barker-Vormawor has called for stronger legal and constitutional safeguards to protect public-sector workers, particularly young Ghanaians, during changes of government.

His comments were made on Newsfile on JoyNews on Saturday, March 7, following the Minority in Parliament’s call for the reinstatement of more than 1,500 public-sector employees dismissed after the transition of power in January 2025.

The opposition described the terminations as “arbitrary, unjust and harmful” to young Ghanaians entering the labour market.

Barker-Vormawor highlighted the Kwasi Prempeh report, which examined how other countries manage public appointments during electoral transitions.

“Because as Felix said, this is something which is systemic and has continued to be developed in politics for a while,” he said.

The report referenced the Philippines, where the government is barred from making appointments two months prior to presidential elections, except to prevent serious disruption to public service.

Similarly, the Kenyan Constitution prohibits major appointments—including judges, ministers, or officials exercising executive powers—from being made between voting and the inauguration of the next president. Even the granting of pardons or national honours is restricted.

The report recommended that Ghana adopt similar mechanisms to ensure that appointments, contracts, wage increases, or financial commitments that extend into a new administration are carefully regulated.

Temporary appointments for short-term operational purposes would remain valid, provided they do not bind the next government.

Barker-Vormawor stressed that political transitions disproportionately affect young people, who are often most vulnerable to abrupt employment changes.

“The vast majority of these situations affect young people. I do not care whether they belong to party A or party Z. Young people have to be treated fairly,” he said.

“There are lives at stake. People have planned their lives, rented apartments, and organised travel around employment. They need to be treated better and within a predictable framework.”

He suggested that amendments to the Presidential Transitions Act and complementary constitutional reforms could provide the necessary clarity and predictability.

The advisor also highlighted systemic issues with discretionary powers granted to ministers and officials, which often result in inconsistent application and abuse.

“A lot of the time, enforcement becomes a problem because the laws permit discretion. But it is in those margins that we are most abusive of law,” he explained. “We need clear rules—red means red, green means green. Otherwise, political actors exploit grey areas for personal or partisan gain.”

Barker-Vormawor argued that poorly conceptualised administrative frameworks and unchecked ministerial discretion have historically led to abuses in areas such as natural resource management and public appointments.

He called for a re-evaluation of existing laws, using mechanisms such as Article 296 of the Constitution, to ensure discretion is exercised responsibly and consistently.

Looking forward, Barker-Vormawor urged that the ongoing constitutional review process be used not only to codify recommendations into law but also to conduct post-adoption audits of existing legislation.

“So many of our laws need to be re-audited to realign. Even when we adopted the 1992 Constitution, we simply validated existing PNDC and SMCD decrees. That should have been reviewed to determine continued constitutional compliance,” he said.

He proposed that the Law Reform Commission could play a key role in reviewing Ghana’s body of laws and re-conceptualising ministerial and executive discretion to prevent future abuses.