President and Chairman of Groupe Nduom (GN), Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, has called for a critical look at the Transitional Act so as to avoid unnecessary tension and loss of productivity anytime a new government assumes office.
In his opinion, only positions which are directly political and are under the executive arm of government should be changed and not those to be occupied by technocrats.
According to him, non-political positions, if there would be any change, should be based on competence and not party affiliation.
He explained that “it doesn’t matter whichever government is in power. When wrong persons are appointed, you get wrong results.”
Dr. Nduom was speaking on the topic “Fire my boss” on “Ghana Great and Strong, a non-political programme broadcast live on Amansan Television (ATV) in Accra every Saturday from 7:00 p.m.,-8:00 pm.
The programme is carried by Business Television Africa (BTA), FNN, Ocean 1 TV, Eezy 107.5 and more than 20 radio stations in all the ten regions of the country.
According to Dr. Nduom, who is also the host of the show, since February 7, 2017 lots of heads of institutions have either been dismissed or asked to proceed on leave, a situation he said has become a ritual after the tenure of every administration.
“We are looking at the situation where every four years when there is a change in administration in Ghana some people lose their jobs, other people get jobs and there is shift of who is in charge. So we need to look critically at it, and ask ourselves why we do this and its impact on our system, and whether it has any bearing on us as a people and the country as a whole,” he said.
He however, maintained that one-third of district assemblies’ appointees, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs), ministers of state, non-career ambassadors, high commissioners must all go with the president when he or she is leaving office.
That, he said, happens everywhere.
Dr. Nduom was not happy with the situation where aggrieved workers get up and agitate against their bosses to the extent of calling for their dismissal whenever there is a change in administration.
In this regard, Dr. Nduom further underscored the need for a critical look at the Transition Act 845 on whether chief executives of state institutions and corporations must leave anytime a new government is formed.
He recounted as a minister under the erstwhile Kufuor administration how some of the people he worked with did their work professionally.
“I wished I could reward them. They did their work professionally. So we cannot assume that all the people in the public sector are there because of politics.”
“I wouldn’t change anybody because of politics; I would want the best person to be in the right position because if they do well I get the credit; if they fail I also fail. So you want to put the right person on the right job, but will not have the wholesale change that is what we are talking about,” he stressed.
He also called for an evaluation of the situation so as to help determine the right people for the right job.
He explained that until the Act is amended the pressure will always be on the president to appoint his people into top positions since he has the mandate to do so.
“If the law allows them to do it, they will do it or the president’s supporters will say we put you in office so put us here and there,” he stated.
Dr. Nduom indicated that irrespective of the person’s political affiliation if he or she is competent and honest such a person must be maintained, stressing that it is important as a country to evaluate the situation we find ourselves in.
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