News:
June 19, 2025
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has assured Parliament of Ghana that morale in the foreign service is very high contrary to perceptions out there that due to massive transfers since the John Dramani Mahama administration came to power, morale has been down.
According to him with the foreign service, every four years posting is done; and not transfer as the ranking member on Foreign Affairs Samuel Abu Jirnapor sought to portray on the floor of the House when asking an urgent question.
The minister further added that he set up a committee made up of directors of finance, legal, administration and representatives from A and B service to do the posting without the sector minister getting involved.
This, he stated, was done in a very transparent manner, hence the reason the ranking member got access to a circular which he referred to, on the floor of the House.
“The Committees report was presented and there was chance for staffs to indicate if they were available for posting or not. They did a great job and considered human circumstances like females who had just given birth, those who have kids who needed special care and did not want to be posted to countries where they would not receive that special treatment for their children. I was a thorough, fair and objective process; and I asked that the report should be circulated for everyone to see what has happened”, the Minister added.
Mr. Ablakwa affirmed that so far it has been well received, and few petitions have also come which he described as normal. “What I have done is, for every petition, I have invited them, listen to them, and invited management to justify why they carried out what they did. Few petitioners have understood that this have been done objectively and above all no one has been discriminated against”.
“I was thinking the ranking member would give me credit. When I came to office, I was under pressure that a few days to elections, there has been recruitment and so I should sack the people. But I said no, I would review the process”
And added that after the review it was observed that the recruits had financial clearance from the former Minister at the time and the process had started long before the elections. “No one has been dismissed, and I commend the Minority leader for his praise for me for being fair”.
He assured that morale at the foreign service is high at all times; “I am restoring duty waiver on their vehicles – when returning from their posting, they can bring their duty vehicles”, he added.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com