Director of Administration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Harold Agyeman has dismissed reports that his outfit has been hit with nepotistic recruitments.

His comments come on the back of a newspaper publication that accused the ministry of hiring 320 family and friends which has angered career diplomats.

In a press statement, Mr Agyeman described the publication as false, stating that the newspaper sought to create a negative impression in the minds of the general public.

“The attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has been drawn to the above subject matter, which appeared as a headline for the Monday, 12th April 2021 edition of the ‘The Herald’ newspaper and making the rounds on social media and other online portals including Ghanaweb.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration wishes to state emphatically that the Herald newspaper publication which sought to create an impression in the minds of the general public that there was tension in the Ministry due to inappropriate recruitment, promotion and appointment practices is completely false.”

The statement admitted to hiring staff but refuted claims of the ministry not following due processes.

“On the unverified claims relating to recruitment of officers into the Ministry, we wish to inform the public that recruitments into the highly revered Ministry follow a merit-based process that is overseen by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service and endorsed by the Civil Service Council, which is the appointing authority for all Civil Servants.

"As a result, it is not only far-fetched to suggest that the Ministry has since 2017 put in place a system that enables it to recruit persons who are only familiar to or friends of officials in authority, but such an assertion flies in the face of basic facts and does not reflect the professionalism associated with the Ministry”.

Below is the full press statement