John Mahama faces headwind in 2nd term as Ghana's president
President John Mahama faces IMF pressure to cut government spending. But revoking thousands of civil servant appointments has drawn the ire of Ghanaians who are experiencing economic hardship.
With Ghana emerging from its worst economic crisis in a generation, President John Mahama has had be pragmatic in his first two months in office.
The West African nation, which sends oil and gold to global markets, is still benefiting from a $3 billion (€2.8 billion) loan package from the International Monetary Fund. The conditions of the (IMF) debt deal will likely frame Mahama's economic policies.
As one of his early measures, Mahama put the previous government's appointments of teachers and nurses under review and launched an investigation into the operations of the National Service Authority — which provides newly qualified graduates the opportunity to have practical work exposure on the job — after more than 81,000 suspected ghost names were found on government payrolls.
Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson also announced major tax reforms to assist Ghanaians and businesses.
But trade unions have warned that dismissing key employees could have devastating consequences — both for communities, and individuals.
"Ghanaian politicians are playing with us," said Emmanual Opoku, who told DW that he graduated in 2020 and finally landed a job two years later at the Ghana Meteorological Agency.
But, in February, Opoku and his colleagues were told that their appointments were under review and that they should return home.
A former Ghana Revenue Authority employee, who gave his name as Abubakar, said: "When I got the revocation letter, it broke my heart. It's not easy to get an opportunity without knowing anybody. It's giving me sleepless nights."
(Source:DW)
