NPP sacks 200 NHIA workers in two months

The aL-hAJJ can confirm that the Akufo-Addo led New Patriotic Party government has caused the newly appointed CEO of National Health Insurance Authority, Dr Samuel Annor, to terminate the employment of over 200 staffs suspected of being sympathizers of the outgone NDC.

The affected workers, this paper has gathered, were persons employed last year by the erstwhile Mahama administration and are suspected of being members or supporters of the now opposition National Democratic Congress.

While officials at the Authority claim the layoffs was part of the new administration’s staff rationalization policy, the pro-poor health management outfit has since employed over 300 known activist of the ruling party.

Sources at the NHIA told The aL-hAJJ that “employees who were employed last year and are on probation together with others have all been asked to go home. Their places are being taken over by new employees. The only explanation they gave was that the layoffs were part of the new administration’s staff rationalization plans.”

Documents in possession of The aL-hAJJ indicate that the Akufo-Addo government has also terminated the employment of all 216 Beneficiary Monitoring Assistants employed by the National Youth Authority under the NDC government.

In February this year, Mr Nathaniel Otoo resigned as CEO of NHIA due to change in government. Heads of other state owned institutions have also either resigned or been fired by President Akufo-Addo since he took office on January 7, this year.

Several government employees have also been shown the exit because they were employed during the erstwhile NDC administration. Early this year, The National Service Secretariat withdrew the appointment of National Service Staff whose recruitment was done in December, last year.

A statement issued by managers of the scheme and signed by the Acting Executive Director, Ussif Mustapha said “this decision has been informed by a thorough consideration of violations of due process prior to the recruitment”. The affected persons have however sued the secretariat for wrongful termination of appointment.

Workers at other state institutions like Bureau of National Investigation, National Security, COCOBOD, BOST and others have all had their fair share of the Akufo-Addo-led government’s policy of layoffs.

Last week, Chief of Staff, Mrs Akosua Frema Opare warned that government will sanction non-performing Chief Directors of the various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.

Her comments come months after Energy Minister, Mr Boakye Agyarko, revealed that the Akufo-Addo government will sack civil servants appointed by the Mahama administration.

This, he said, will be done to safeguard the interest of the NPP’s loyal party faithful, by getting them to occupy the positions, such as those of the civil servants “whose party”, {the NDC} ideologies and beliefs are divergent from that of the NPP government.

“Most of our loyalists in the civil service were humiliated by the administrations of Mills and Mahama, and, so, for me, we have to urgently cater for such victims. We can’t disregard the vigorous efforts of the grassroots who have given us the power,” he noted.

“It is important for us, as a party, to work hard and expose and shame any NDC civil servant who will dare do any dubious thing to make the NPP government unpopular…what do you think will happen to me and the state, if I should continue to have some NDC civil servants in certain critical positions?,” Mr Agyarko retorted on Oman Fm’s Boiling Point program.

Member of Parliament for Assin Central has also been advising the President, Ministers and Heads of State Institutions to sack all workers employed by the Mahama administration.