Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has defended the Mahama administration’s decision to grant a two-year contract extension to Inspector-General of Police Christian Tetteh Yohuno, despite an earlier policy position that retiring public officers would not have their contracts renewed.

The government has been criticised by civil society organisations for what they describe as a reversal of its own directive.

But speaking to EIB Network’s Presidential Affairs Correspondent, Abdul-Hanan Adam, Mr. Kwakye Ofosu said the decision was based on strong security considerations.

He explained that although government generally discourages contract renewals, the Yohuno case required special treatment.

He said, “As a general rule, the government believes that it helps if we do not have a general flat policy of these renewals, but I’m sure that to every rule there is an exception, and especially because this is a security sector-related appointment… surely a case can be made for allowing sufficient time for his policies to percolate, for his initiatives to come to fruition.”

According to him, the decision was not taken unilaterally by the President but was informed by the Police Council after assessing the IGP’s performance and the country’s security needs.

“It is not a unilateral decision taken by the president,” he said. “The police council… examined the security challenges we have and also looked into what may be required to address them… and came to the conclusion that it will serve the interests of the country at this stage, to have this sort of extension.”

Kwakye Ofosu added that while the government still stands by its general principle against post-retirement extensions, the IGP’s situation presented “peculiar considerations” that justified making an exception.