Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has criticised the Akufo-Addo administration for engaging retirees in the public sector while qualified young persons are being overlooked. For Mr Ablakwa, Ghana should not have such a high number of retirees in the public sector in the face of high youth unemployment made worse by the current economic crisis. “A country facing record high unemployment as captured by the 2021 Population and Housing Census of 13.4% and 32.8% for those aged 15-24 which is further aggravated by the current debilitating economic crisis should not be keeping so many retirees on contract in the public service. So far, I have counted hundreds of these retirees who have been engaged on multiple post-retirement contracts by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government when they should be home enjoying their pensions instead of denying many qualified young Ghanaians employment opportunities,” he stated. He pointed out that in the Civil and Local Government Services alone, there are over 60 retirees on contract, while the number is high in other sectors. This, he stressed, is a barrier to persons interested in working in the public sector, stifles career progression and lowers morale among serving public sector workers. “There are as many as 63 retirees on contract within the Civil and Local Government Services as of today, and even more than this number under other public sector categories. Apart from serving as a blockade to prospective young Ghanaians with public sector ambitions, the phenomenon is stifling career progression and lowering morale in Ghana’s public sector,” he noted. Ablakwa added that some of the contracts of these retirees are unconstitutional, asking that the president terminate the contracts of all the retirees. “…Equally troubling — some of those contracts we are reviewing are palpably unconstitutional. President Akufo-Addo must immediately terminate all these contracts, ensure he thanks our retirees for their dedicated service and endeavour to honour them with a befitting send-off and urgently fill the vacancies to be created through a transparent, credible and meritorious recruitment process for our suffering youth — as we demand that this time he eschews his reckless penchant for Family/Friends/Akonta shenanigans,” he concluded. Several other persons, notably journalist Johnnie Hughes have complained about the issue of the engagement of retirees when younger qualified persons abound.