Economist and political risk analyst, Dr. Theo Acheampong, has called for a more nuanced and targeted approach in addressing the dismissal of public sector employees hired after December 7, 2024.

Speaking on Newsfile on Saturday, February 22, 2025, he expressed the need for a comprehensive audit of the appointments before making any blanket decisions, adding that due process must be verified to distinguish legitimate hires from irregular ones.

"So I think then what ought to be done for me, first thing is it needs a more nuanced and a more targeted approach. The whole mass approach perhaps doesn't work. So for sure, we need an audit of all these appointments. I would even probably even extend it to two months, even before the election, and not just after 7th December."

"I also don't think that in the context of that audit, we need to be very sure that every one of those people that have been employed, put and on put, went through that due process, financial clearance, authorization, all of those things right," he suggested.

• Read also: Post-Dec. 7 employees went through due process – NPP’s Amoakwa-Boadu

Dr. Acheampong acknowledged that Ghana’s public payroll is under strain, particularly in the context of the ongoing IMF program, where wages and salaries remain one of the biggest expenditure items after debt servicing.

"Nobody denies that we need more doctors, we need more teachers, we need more civil servants, so to say. But then they also have to go through a certain process in terms of those appointment but in the context of an IMF program that we're running, and you look at the expenditure items that the government has after paying off your debt or servicing your debt, the next biggest item on there is the moment and salaries. And you would have to do something in terms of trimming, but also in terms of ensuring that there are efficiency savings within that," he explained.

He pointed out that governments in power often rush to regularise certain appointments before leaving office, which ultimately adds pressure on public finances.

"After December 7, it often looks like an outgoing government is in a rush to regularise certain appointments that should have been done much earlier. Suddenly, there’s a panic to ensure these people have contracts, and all these decisions cascade into payroll challenges," he noted.

Dr. Acheampong cited instances where teachers were affected by the mass dismissals, even though their recruitment processes began months before the election but were delayed due to administrative bottlenecks.

He advised that the audit should have clear timelines, ensuring that those who legitimately went through due process are reinstated, while those who did not are removed.

"Ultimately, what will happen is that some people would be re-employed back, and some would not be," he said.