Minority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh has alleged that more than 3,000 contract staff were recruited at the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) without proper financial clearance.
According to the Nsawam-Adoagyiri MP, newly recruited workers have also suffered drastic salary cuts.
In an open letter addressed to President John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday, he described the situation at the EPA as a growing institutional crisis with implications for environmental governance and investor confidence.
“Over 3,000 persons were reportedly recruited as contract staff at a time when the Authority did not yet have a properly constituted Governing Board,” he claimed.
According to him, the recruitments were carried out “without prior financial clearance from the Ministry of Finance,” contrary to public financial management procedures.
He further alleged that appointment letters issued to some recruits placed them on salary levels above existing officers, including senior technical staff and management personnel.
Annoh-Dompreh also claimed that some recruits were placed directly into senior staff positions “without adherence to established recruitment procedures, grading structures, or career progression requirements within the public service framework.”
The Minority Chief Whip said the situation had created financial strain and disrupted morale within the institution.
“Subsequent financial clearance from the Ministry of Finance covered only approximately 500 positions, leaving a large number of previously engaged contract personnel without a clear legal or fiscal regularisation pathway,” he stated.
Beyond the recruitment concerns, the MP alleged that workers who accepted employment offers at the EPA are now facing severe salary reductions after resigning from previous jobs.
“Young Ghanaians were recruited through a transparent process, with contractual salaries clearly defined by rank, ranging from GHS 8,000 to GHS 12,000 and up to GHS 14,000,” he said.
“Just months into their probation, these same individuals have been blindsided. Their salaries have been unilaterally slashed to between GHS 3,000 and GHS 4,000, a reduction of nearly 70%.”
According to him, some affected workers resigned from permanent jobs, including teaching positions, based on the salary terms offered by the EPA.
“Those who resigned from their teaching posts cannot return since their former positions have been filled. They are now trapped, earning less than junior clerks, yet overqualified for alternatives,” he stated.
Annoh-Dompreh warned that the situation could damage trust in public sector employment.
“The message being sent is terrifying, that in Ghana, a signed employment contract is not worth the paper it is written on,” he stressed.
He urged President Mahama to order an immediate administrative and financial review of the recruitment exercise and restore the original salaries of affected workers.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com