Finance Minister Seth Tekper has hinted government will lift the ban on the recruitment of employees in the public sector if the fortune of the country improves.
[contextly_sidebar id=”sfPoM7d3PKrgXqopSa66I1uZpQOLUK6p”]Government in 2010, placed a ban on the recruitment of employees in the public sector as part of measures to stabilize the economy and effectively manage the public wage bill.
The embargo has over the years increased the rate of unemployment in the country.
The sectors which have largely been affected by the embargo are health and education.
However last year the Minister of Health, Dr. Kwaku Agyemang- Mensah announced plans to employ critical health personnel for the three regions of the north despite the embargo on employment in the public sector.
The employment of the critical health personnel according to the sector Minister, was to enhance the delivery of quality health care in the Upper East Region.
Seth Terkper speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show downplayed assertions that the freeze was put in place following a directive from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
‘We have had a net freeze with or without the IMF. You cannot just be employing in the public sector because you cannot spend a lot on a bloated civil service or public service payroll, you also need the money for goods and services.
It is not a total freeze it is a net freeze there is an exception for example the health and education sectors the freeze does not affect all of them.’
By: Vivian Kai Lokko/citifmonline.com/Ghana