What is happening and why does Akufo-Addo want the CVs of top officials? - Kwasi Pratt

The Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has raised a series of questions to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on the urgent demand for curriculum vitae (CVs) of top government officials.

His concerns come on the back of a viral photo that contained a memo to top officials of the Electoral Commission requesting their CVs and citing the president as the sole recipient.

He asked these on Metro TV's Good Morning Ghana, which GhanaWeb monitored.

According to the veteran journalist, there is a need to explain the purpose behind such an urgent request.

"It's a very short memo. And so many questions popped up in my head, and I've not been able to find answers to them yet. The first question is what the purpose is and why will the president be in such a hurry. Because he gives the directors and above less than 24 hours to provide their CVs, less than 24 hours. There must be some extreme urgency about this matter," he said.

To him, the memo which contained the directive extends beyond the office of the president itself, as it names the president explicitly as the ultimate recipient of all the CVs.

This raises additional questions about the need for the request and leaves the public wondering about the potential implications.

"These persons are already at the post. They are directors and maybe chief directors and so on. How come suddenly, within 24 hours, they need to provide their CVs? What is it intended for? Are we going to dismiss them? Are we going to replace them? What is going to happen to these CVs when they finally reach the president? It is interesting also to note that this memo is not just about the office of the president. Indeed, the president is mentioned by name as the ultimate recipient of all these CVS; why," he continued to ask.

One significant concern that was also raised by Kwesi Pratt pertains to the existence of personal files for all public sector employees. He noted that every individual in public service should already have a personal file, which must include their CV.

The fact that the head of Human Resources is making this request raises doubts about whether the CVs of top officials are absent from their files and, if so, how and why this oversight has occurred.

"The third important question. I've worked in the public sector for a while, and I think that everybody in the public service ought to have a personal file. The file must include their CVs. So why is the request being made by the head of Human Resources. is it that they don't have the CVs of their top officials on file? And if they don't have the CVs o their top officials on file, why and how.

"In any case, what does this do to the independence of bodies like the electoral commission, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) and so on? What does it say about their independence," he questioned.

Kwesi Pratt questioned whether the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, possesses the necessary powers to go beyond the topmost positions and disrupt appointments in these bodies.

"If it is for the purposes of a reshuffle of some sought, removal from office or replacement and so on, I think we need to go back to the constitution and ask the most important question whether the president indeed has the powers to go into institutions especially independent public institutions, constitutional bodies and go beyond the very top to the lower top to interfere with their appointment. Does he have the locus?" asked again.



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NW/OGB