Former Eastern Regional Minister, Seth Acheampong, has criticised the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo, for blaming the previous administration for the ongoing salary delays affecting newly recruited nurses, teachers, and junior doctors.
Speaking on Breakfast Daily on Channel One TV on Thursday, October 9, 2025, Mr. Acheampong described the Minister’s comments as “unfortunate” and “misguided,” insisting that recruitment into the public service follows established financial and administrative procedures that prevent arbitrary hiring.
His response comes after Mr. Pelpuo, appearing on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday, October 8, attributed the delays in salary payments to what he called poor recruitment practices and fiscal indiscipline under the former Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration.
Reacting to the claims, Mr. Acheampong questioned why the minister would make such statements without acknowledging the legal and procedural frameworks that guide public sector recruitment.
“Sometimes I listen to the rhetoric of some of our colleagues, and here, it is being attributed to Dr. Rashid Pelpuo. I ask myself why someone with so much experience would say this? We know what our issues are.
“You only fill vacancies in the public space when there are availabilities. If people have not retired or created new desks, how do you recruit into the public space?” he said.
He explained that all recruitments within the public sector require financial clearance from the Ministry of Finance before they are implemented. This, he noted, ensures fiscal discipline and protects government finances from unapproved expenditures.
“Before any recruitment is sanctioned, the Ministry of Finance must have obtained clearance. All those who were recruited at the time sought approval from the Ministry. When the ministry grants clearance, it specifies when to begin recruitment because it is responsible for mobilizing the revenue to ensure the process is sustainable,” he explained.
Mr. Acheampong argued that the current salary delays cannot be blamed on the previous administration, as the verification and validation processes required to ensure transparency often take time.
“Why is it that members of government who are just nine months in office are saying they haven’t paid officialdom yet? It is because of the processes involved for transparency’s sake. Some validations and other procedures must take place,” he said.
He accused the current government of engaging in political point-scoring instead of addressing the administrative bottlenecks that often delay payments.
“Because of how we want to be seen as people who are pious and the best, you come out to say that somebody was reckless. Why use such language when you know that in truth, the person going through the procedure did the right thing?” he questioned.
Unpaid salaries of teachers, nurses due to reckless recruitment under NPP – Pelpuo
