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23.03.2023 Article

Re-Retaining Experienced Civil Servants Beyond Retirement Age: A Strategic Move For Positive Transformation And National Development

By Mr. Epiphany Kwesi Agbeshie, Dr. Mrs. Pearl Hammond, Mr. Ben Duadze & Miss Grace Ama Tsibu (University of Education, Winneba).
Re-Retaining Experienced Civil Servants Beyond Retirement Age: A Strategic Move For Positive Transformation And National Development
23.03.2023 LISTEN

Introduction
We found the above article and opinion of Ammishaddai Owusu Amoah (2023) very interesting since it sought to make a case for a strategic growth for positive transformation and national development. Because of the wide scope of the article and the fact that it carries an important national agenda and since there are several shades of the debate as to retaining experienced civil servants beyond the retirement age against recruiting and employing fresh graduates for the job. We intend to explore further this controversial debate with particular reference to the case made for Dr. Owusu-Amoah, the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and what pertains in the public universities of Ghana. The case study at a critical look is purely academic interaction. None of the researchers know Dr. Owusu-Amoah, neither are we related to him and therefore have no intent to despise his laudable achievements as speculated in the said article.

Case for Dr. Owusu-Amoah
In a critical assessment and review of the article, the following can be deduced:

  • Extension of service

The extension granted by the President, Nana Addo Akufo-Addo to Dr. Owusu-Amoah who was due to retire in August 2020 to continue serving as the Head of GRA was met with mixed reactions and feelings by the public.

  • Retention of Experienced Civil Servant

The argument to let go experienced Civil Servants once they reached retirement age was defended as valid. But we beg to differ. Not all ‘experienced Civil Servants are truly experienced’ and indispensable. Who did the assessments and passed the retiree as well experienced?

  • Admission of High Youth Unemployment

It was rightly indicated in the article that youth unemployment is on the rise in the country. What is the policy direction of the nation in addressing this unfortunate canker? When do we as a nation give opportunities to the youth, graduates trained in various professions to head our public institutions and let alone employ them?

  • Legal Justification for the Retention

Article 199(4) of the 1992 Constitution which was amended in 1996 to allow public Officers who retire at the age of 60 to be engaged for a limited period of not more than two years at a time, but not exceeding a total of five years is clearly outmoded and completely out of touch of current trends of unemployment. A period of 2 -5 years is good enough to deny other equally trained, well experienced and competent staff from heading institutions they have also served for years. This tradition cannot continue without critical assessment and review.

Notable Achievements of Dr. Owusu-Amoah

Some brilliant achievements of Dr. Owusu-Amoah were also cited. These cannot be taken for granted. Can we respectfully look at some of them?

  • Online-filling and Payment of Taxes

What is innovative about this? We are in a computer age and it is incumbent on all institutions to adopt and use computer in all our transactions. In fact, the youth who are well trained in Information Communication Technology (ICT) are better equipped to carry out these assignments. The Ghana Water Company and Electricity Company of Ghana are presently sending monthly bills to all their customers on emails and mobile phones. Does that call for the retention of the Managing Director (MD) of these companies to be retained when they are due to retire at 60?

  • Migration of Manual Auctions

Spearheading the migration of manual auction activities to an electronic platform to enhance transparency is a normal work that is expected to be done. Work that was collectively done by all is attributed to only one person, the M.D.?

  • Introduction of e-VAT

Introduction of e-VAT and operationalizing this system such that all VAT registered persons are incorporated into the systems for them to issue Commissioner-General e-VAT and allowing GRA to track their transactions to check revenue leakages are tasks for the computer age generation and youthfully well trained graduates to do. In fact, the youth in our institutions are the brain behind all these IT transactions and changes that are taking place. Please, shall we stop applauding the old and ‘Born Before Computer (BBC)’ retirees with all such undeserving commendations.

  • Introduction of Cashless Initiatives

A cashless initiative that has eliminated the negative aspects of teeming and lading, cash suppression and stealing by some staff, reconciliation problems, reducing of long queues, time-wasting, refused cheques are all initiatives expected of the entire staff. All hands should be on deck. How and why should all of us do the work and then one person, the old retiree is credited for our success?

Striking Balance Between Retention and Recruitment

This debate had been incongruously skewed towards the retention of all manner of staff particularly the Heads of Department and Directors. We are not getting anywhere as a nation if the policy of retaining of retirees remained the same. Are we ready to recruit and employ the well trained and skillful youth or face the consequences of future unemployment explosions? The youth ae too much endangered and pushed into submission by the over aged generation.

Assessments of Skills, Experiences and Competencies

In many of such appointments, who did the assessments of skills, expertise, experiences and competencies of the retirees? Is there any recognized body or authority who is expected to do an independent and dispassionate assessment? Who does the assessment of such retirees before their contracts are extended? Those assessments and reports are left in the hands of immediate bosses. Favoritisms, cronyism, party affiliation, family and friends will certainly set in. What has come out from the synchronization of the data collected from the Ghana Card Registration with the employment records of the Social Security National and Insurance Trust (SSNIT)? How many Ghanaian workers are still in active service when they were supposed to have retired?

Wholesale Retention of Retired Lecturers

In public universities of Ghana, there is the culture of wholesale retention of all Senior Lecturers and Professors. Senior Lecturers are granted post retirement contracts for five (5) years based on the person’s medical condition. The Professors, ones his or her health is sound canbe retained as much as ten (10) years on renewal contracts. The position of this paper is that, well trained graduates should be recruited and employed to replace the old hands and brains. The continuous retention and extension of contracts to the old retirees are denying the opportunities for the young and enterprising graduates. Lectureship is based on research and research informs teaching. The situation where the same old lecture notes are being chunk out without revision and continuous research are creating misfits and gaps in the educational delivery in institutions of higher learning.

Succession Planning in the Civil Service and universities

Succession planning is a process and strategy for replacement planning or passing on leadership roles. It is used to identify and develop new, potential leaders who can move into leadership roles when they become vacant Wikipedia 2023). Halt (Nov 2022) posited seven (7) steps for succession planning and steps to success. Three of these steps are:

  • Pinpoint Succession Candidates;
  • Do a trial of your Succession Plan;
  • Think about your own Successor.

The situation where people hold on to positions like their personal possessions should be discouraged. Such attitudes should be discouraged in the Civil Service and institutions of higher learning in the country.

The Way Forward
In order to review this trend of recycling of retirees by extending their contracts, it is important to think through and take proactive steps to effect progressive and transformative changes in the Civil Service and institutions of higher learning. Some of the measures may include the following:

  • Critical Assessment of Competencies and Experiences

Assessments of work of all such retirees should not be left in the hands of their Heads of Department. An independent assessment and assessor should be sought. For instance, the Quality Assurance Unit of the universities could be tasked to conduct evaluation and assessments of all categories of staff and submit reports. In institutions of higher learning for instance, students’ assessment of lecturers can be done. This can serve as good basis for awarding post retirement contracts.

  • Health and Medical Examination

It is important for all those who seek approval for retention and extension of contracts to be medically examined by the prescribed medical Director and Medical Board of the University to assess their state of mind and health.

  • Encouragement of Retirees to establish Small Businesses and Consultancies

After accumulation of several experiences of work, it is worthy to encourage retirees to go into private Small businesses, companies and consultancies. By this, all such retirees will employ the young graduates and train them. The growth of the private sector of any country will surely be measured in the positive growth of the economy.

  • Granting of Tax Reliefs to Retirees

All such private businesses and consultancies of retirees who engage the young graduates should be motivated by giving them tax reliefs. The number of young graduates that are employed with the private sector will also go a long way to reduce the unemployment rate of the country.

  • Promotion of Mentorship among Retirees

Mentorship of the young graduates by the experienced retirees is equally important and recommended. Today’s youth are tomorrow future. When the youth are properly oriented and well mentored, it will also go a long way to reduce social vices and put a lot of idle hands in productive ventures.

  • Effective Succession Planning

Succession planning should be a must in the Civil Service, public Universities and other institutions of higher learning. It should be mandatory that qualified and competent persons be effectively and efficiently trained and prepared for leadership roles.

  • Change in Policy

The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and the Civil Service Commission should do an appraisal of the existing policies and revise them.

Conclusion
The country can boast of the quantitative development of its labor force. What the authors are sure of is the quality of graduates turned out by the tertiary educational institutions. The retention of all manner of retirees should therefore be carefully thought. Retention of retirees should not be wholesale and cannot be an albatross over the head of the government. The authors were also unanimous that some experienced and competent Civil Servants and Lecturers should be retained for strategic and purposeful development in our public institutions and universities. But there should be a careful balance such that the young and enterprising graduates are not denied employment and frustrated by blocking leadership positions and reappointing the select few. It is the submission of our Team from the UEW, Winneba that there is urgent need to revise our policies with regard to retention and extension of contracts to public officers due for retirement in the Civil Service and public institutions in the country.

REFERENCES
Ammishaidai Owusu Amoah (2023). Retaining Experienced Civil Servants beyond Retirement Age: A Strategic Move for Positive Transformation and National Development. https://www.modernghana.com/news/1217149/retaining-experienced-civil-servants-beyond-retire.html.

Constitution of Ghana (1992). https://en.wikipedia.org.wiki/constitution­_of_Ghana.

Half Robert (2022). What is Succession Planning & 7 Steps to Success.

https:// www.googlesearch.com. Retrieved on 13th March, 2023.

Wikipedia (2023). Definition of Succession Planning. https:googleresearch.com. Retrieved on 13th March, 2023.

Authors: Mr. Epiphany Kwesi Agbeshie, Senior Assistant Registrar; Dr. Mrs. Pearl Hammond, Faculty Officer, School of Creative Arts; Mr. Ben Duadze, Senior Assistant Registrar, Division of Human Resource & Miss Grace Ama Tsibu, Faculty Officer, Faculty of Home Economics; University of Education, Winneba.

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