Contrary to claims by government that there is no freeze on employment into the health and education sectors, Joy News can confirm otherwise.

A memo sighted by the station indicates the government has since 2013 been implementing a freeze on employment policy at least in the education sector.

The memo was authored by the Director General of the Ghana Education Service, Jacob Kor, cautioning various heads of second cycle institutions not to recruit or re-engage teachers.

The memo indicated that government’s freeze on recruitment of staff into the GES has not been lifted.

It read in part:

"Management's attention has been drawn to the fact that recruitment is still ongoing in some sectors of the service despite a letter dated 20th August 2013 by the then director General Ms Benedicta Naana Biney on the freeze on all recruitment within the GES and a reminder on the 15th January 2014 by the then acting General Charles Ahetor Tsegah on the recruitment of staff into the GES. It was well stated in both letters that  the freeze has been imposed on all forms of recruitment and reiterated that the freeze has not been lifted and therefore remains in force.  By this letter, i am emphasizing that the freeze has not been lifted and until clearance is given by the Ministry of Finance on recruitment, no director of Education should recruit, replace, engage or reengage anybody into the Ghana Education Service."

 This memo notwithstanding, government and the GES have rather given a contradictory explannation.

The Deputy Finance Minister Mona Quartey in a recent interview with Joy Business Editor Emmanuel Adjei said:

"The policy is a net freeze meaning that you can only replace those who are retiring or go by natural attrition or those who are resigning. So you can only replace them. That is the policy.

"It doesn't mean you cannot hire critical staff when you need them," she explained.

But the Deputy Director of the Ghana Education Service, Stephen Adu has also given a different explanation to Joy News. He said the policy is not necessarily an entire freeze on employment.

Rather, the Finance Ministry should be alerted before any employment is done.

"Now what the minister of finance is insisting is that before we do any recruitment we have to seek for clearance," he said.

"It is not a net freeze but that we have to seek for clearance before we can recruit.

"I don't consider it to be a freeze on employment," he explained.