The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has ended the contracts of more than 100 employees recruited last year.

A letter signed by the Head of the Human Resource and Capacity Development, Mrs Lucy Sasu, Department, cited the bank’s employment terms regarding probation as the basis for the action.

“In accordance with the terms of your contract of employment, a satisfactory six (6) month probationary period was to be completed. Management regrets to inform you that your appointment cannot be confirmed,” the termination notice stated.

The letter also said that affected employees have been informed that their contracts would be terminated effective Monday, 23 June 2025.

The affected individuals will receive one month’s salary instead of a notice period. The employees have been directed to return all Bank of Ghana property to the Human Resource Department by the said date.

This development is considered as part of a growing trend of dismissals across public institutions following the January 2025 change in government.

Reacting to the development, Member of Parliament for Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, expressed concern, stating that “The termination of appointments continues unabated, with some BOG workers receiving dismissal letters today.”

So far, the central bank’s leadership has not issued any public statement beyond the individual dismissal letters sent to affected staff. It is also not yet known if more terminations will proceed. Reports state that several employees impacted by this decision are now left in a state of despair.

Just over a month after President John Mahama assumed office, the Chief of Staff at the presidency, Julius Debrah, issued a directive calling for the cancellation of all public sector appointments and recruitments made after December 7, 2024.

The directive cited a breach of good governance standards. In a letter sent to all heads of government institutions, the chief of staff emphasized that such last-minute hires conflicted with the government’s position on end-of-tenure recruitment, stating that these appointments did not align with established principles of proper governance.

“Consistent with government pronouncements in relation to near end-of-tenure appointments and recruitment, I wish to bring to your attention that all appointments and recruitment made in the Public Services of Ghana after 7 December 2024, are not in compliance with established good governance practices and principles,” portions of the letter stated.

This action by the government was not welcomed by many, including the Tafo MP, who petitioned the International Labour Organisation (ILO) over what he described as unfair dismissal.

He urged the ILO to initiate an independent inquiry into the recent wave of dismissals in Ghana's public sector, issue a public statement addressing these developments and call for a halt to politically motivated terminations, engage Ghanaian authorities in dialogue under the framework of Convention 111 and relevant ILO principles, and provide technical support and guidance to help restore politically neutral, merit-based recruitment systems within the public sector.