A labour analyst, Austin Gamey, has advised the appointing committee to issue a written contract of employment to the Commissioner-General of Ghana Revenue Authority, Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, to validate his office if there is no replacement.
Rev. Dr. Owusu-Amoah, during scrutiny at the Public Accounts Committee sitting on Monday, January 29, 2024, was quizzed on his age.
The Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram insisted that the GRA boss has been working for over two years without a contract.
The issue has sparked outrage, eliciting reactions from some key personalities.
Mr. Gamey, speaking on Eyewitness News with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Tuesday, January 30, 2024, indicated that it is illegal for public servants to be in office after attaining retirement age without a written contract.
He added that some public servants have the chance to be in office after attaining the age, but only based on contracted casual work under the Labour Commission Law.
However, in the case of the GRA boss, he said, it is unlawful as it goes contrary to the law.
He therefore advised the appointing committee that if they think there is no replacement for the GRA boss, a written employment contract should be handed over to him to validate his continuity in the office.
“For now, the reality is that if you are 60 years old and you are in public services, you are first of all supposed to be told that you have attained the retirement age and therefore you quit the job. But some are given contracts and these contracts are not casual work. It is only casual work under our law that in certain circumstances, it will be a gentlemanly agreement to change the party employee and employed. But this one is not a casual job that was supposed to be done in a week or a month.”
“If there is no one to replace him, the employer should give him a written contract of employment.”