Public service recruitment: Broken system in need of urgent reform

Getting a job in Ghana’s public sector has largely become a game of political and social connections rather than merit.

In theory, recruitment into Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) should be based on competence, advertised publicly and the recruitment and selection process conducted transparently.

In practice, however, it is often shrouded in secrecy, favouritism and a disturbing lack of a level playing field and accountability.

Ask any Ghanaian graduate where to find job vacancies for major public institutions such as the Bank of Ghana (BOG), the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), GNPC or the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), and you’re likely to get a shrug.

These and other institutions continue to hire entry and mid-level staff year after year, yet no job openings are publicly advertised.

Honestly, I have yet to see a job opening at the Bank of Ghana published in the Daily Graphic”or the Ghanaian Times. 

The reality is simple: unless you are politically connected or know someone in the system, your chances of landing a job in these institutions are slim.

In some institutions, recruitment is through heredity: if your parent works there, that opens a door for your entry.

The current public sector recruitment system in Ghana is not just opaque—it is structurally flawed, so to say the least. Jobs are often distributed through "protocol lists" submitted by politicians and other influential figures.

This has led to a disturbing trend on our university campuses, where students align themselves with political party student wings—TEIN or TESCON—not out of ideological conviction, but as a survival strategy.

Instead of promoting innovation, scholarship, entrepreneurship and critical thinking, our tertiary institutions have become breeding grounds for party foot soldiers and communicators.

Contrast this with the relatively transparent recruitment systems in the security services—police, military, navy and air force—which now employ structured processes, regional diversity and national balance in recruitment.

The current system also disadvantages people from rural and less connected parts of Ghana. Someone in Tamale or Damongo or Dambai is far less likely to get wind of a public sector opening than someone in Accra or Kumasi.

The absence of a centralised, digitised recruitment platform has further entrenched geographic inequality in access to public employment. It is no longer surprising that most university graduates head to Accra after their national service.

The answer perhaps lies in the lack of a clear regulatory framework and enforcement mechanism for recruitment in the public service. Article 194 of the 1992 Constitution establishes the Public Services Commission (PSC) to regulate recruitment, and the Public Services Commission Act, 1994 (Act 482) further elaborates its mandate.

Yet, the PSC has been largely passive, allowing MDAs to run opaque recruitment exercises with little to no oversight.

Cost, broken system

The consequences of opaque recruitment practices are multifaceted.

First, it weakens public institutions by lowering the competence of staff, as political loyalty often trumps professional qualifications.

This, in turn, affects service delivery, productivity and public trust.

Second, it leads to bloated payrolls as every new government that comes into office intends to fix party supporters.

Politically appointed or ‘protocol’ staff often duplicate roles, increasing the wage bill without a corresponding increase in efficiency.

Finally, such a system alienates large segments of the youth population, who are already grappling with high unemployment, disillusionment and socio-economic exclusion. 

What needs to be done?

The current administration has launched a reset agenda. Yet, resetting cannot be complete without fixing this broken system.

To reverse this trend, the government (Ministry of Labour, Jobs and Employment and the Public Service Commission) must urgently adopt a regulatory framework for recruitment in the public sector. The following policy reforms can guide this process:

Firstly, the government should develop a central digital platform, similar to the Ghana.gov portal—for all public sector job advertisements and applications.

This portal should serve as the single window for recruitment into Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

The platform can be modelled after Kenya’s Public Service Commission online recruitment portal or India’s Union Public Service Commission framework.

Secondly, the PSC should enforce a policy requiring all public institutions to advertise vacancies in newspapers, on the digital platform and through other media for a minimum of 30 days.

This would increase transparency and ensure that all qualified candidates have an opportunity to apply, regardless of their connections.

Thirdly, recruitment should include aptitude tests and competency-based interviews to assess candidates’ skills and qualifications.

Independent panels, free from political influence, should oversee these processes.

The PSC could adopt elements of the security services’ recruitment model, which balances merit with diversity.

Fourthly, a national recruitment timetable should be published at the beginning of each year to inform the public of upcoming opportunities and reduce ad hoc hiring.

Finally, all recruitment processes must generate digital records to be audited annually.

These reports should be made public to promote accountability.

The Auditor General must also take an interest in how public service recruitment is done.

In conclusion, these reforms are achievable.

The PSC must seize this opportunity.

If we can digitise BECE results, SHS placement and university admissions, then with sufficient resolve, it is entirely possible.

  The writer is an economist, lawyer and public policy advocate. He is the West Africa Regional Director of CUTS International. E-mail: apa@cuts.org