Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has confirmed that government has begun the process of recruiting new staff into the public service, even as the country faces significant pressure from its growing public wage bill.
Speaking during a dialogue with President John Dramani Mahama and Organised Labour on March 17, the Minister explained that the recruitment drive forms part of commitments made to labour unions under the November 9, 2025 agreement on the 2026 base pay.
According to Dr. Forson, government agreed to engage unions and carry out critical hiring across state institutions while staying within budget limits.
“In line with the 9th November 2025 agreement on the 2026 base pay, government committed to engage with unions and undertake critical recruitment into the public service, all within budget constraints,” he said.
“In this regard, government has commenced processes for the recruitment of staff into the public service.”
The announcement comes despite mounting fiscal challenges.
Dr. Forson disclosed that government had to borrow GHS 17 billion in 2025 just to pay public sector salaries, underscoring the scale of the financial strain.
He also noted that Ghana’s compensation-to-tax revenue ratio currently stands at 44 percent, significantly higher than the 35 percent threshold recommended within the West African sub-region.
Overall, the 2025 public sector compensation bill reached GHS 78.9 billion, exceeding the country’s non-oil tax revenue (after statutory payments and debt servicing) by GHS 17 billion a shortfall that had to be financed through borrowing.
Despite these pressures, the Finance Minister assured stakeholders that the recruitment exercise would be carefully controlled to prevent further strain on the national budget.
He emphasized that hiring would target critical sectors facing staff shortages and would be conducted strictly within approved financial limits.
