In a development that intensifies accusations of policy inconsistency and patronage within the John Mahama administration, fresh documents from the Presidency reveal a growing list of overaged public officials being handed new appointments—despite a widely publicised presidential directive banning all post-retirement contract extensions due to concerns about age.

The situation has sparked renewed concerns over fairness, generational equity, and the future of public sector succession planning.

At the centre of the controversy is the reappointment of several senior figures, many aged 60 and above, to top-tier positions across state institutions.

The move contradicts President John Dramani Mahama’s April 2025 directive, which suspended all post-retirement contract appointments to create room for younger talent in the public service.

The order was issued after years of criticism from labour unions, youth groups, civil society, and opposition parties over what they described as the “recycling of retirees” at the expense of skilled and versatile graduates.

Despite this commitment, the administration has since approved a series of fresh appointments that benefit retirees and near-retirees—igniting accusations of double standards.

Among the most prominent is the return of 63-year-old Emmanuel Siisi Quainoo, born in 1962, who has been reappointed Acting Commissioner of the Gaming Commission of Ghana.

Siisi Quainoo, who previously led the Commission between 2014 and 2017, has been reinstated through a formal letter dated 22 January 2025, signed by Dr. Callistus Mahama, Secretary to the President.

The letter cites constitutional backing under Article 195(1) and the Gaming Act, 2006 (Act 721), pending advice from the governing board.

Younger applicants, many with advanced qualifications in gaming law, regulation, and digital compliance, say the door has been shut on them.
Critics accuse the 63-year-old appointee—who has passed the statutory retirement age of 60—of “blocking opportunities” meant for the next generation. The backlash intensified after a viral commentary by journalist Charles McCarthy described him as “an old-timer who should be sipping tea on his pension.”

The discontent widened further when another senior figure, Kwasi Agyemang Gyan-Tutu, was also appointed Acting Deputy Managing Director of the State Housing Company Limited, to work under a very young boss John S. Bawah, who is the brother of Joyce Bawah Mogtari.

His appointment, communicated on 21 October 2025, follows the same pattern: re-engagement of long-serving bureaucrats while thousands of young housing professionals remain unemployed.

These appointments come on the heels of an even more controversial decision: President Mahama’s approval of a two-year post-retirement contract for Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Christian Tetteh Yohuno.

Yohuno, who hits the statutory retirement age in December 2025, was granted an extension despite the administration’s own prohibition of such contracts.

The decision, which insiders describe as “strategic,” overrides the April 2025 ban that suspended all post-retirement engagements.

The IGP’s re-engagement has raised deeper constitutional questions.
The President’s original directive—issued to all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies—stated unequivocally that “all requests for post-retirement contract appointments will no longer be considered.” Labour unions hailed the move as a progressive step toward cleaning up the upper echelons of the public service. Yet the same office that issued that firm order is now the origin of exceptions.

Security analysts argue that the IGP extension was driven by political and operational considerations, including a divided police hierarchy, intelligence restructuring, and the need for continuity.

But critics insist that cherry-picking certain retirees for extensions undermines confidence in governance and makes the earlier ban appear “cosmetic.”

Meanwhile, the number of retirees holding public positions continues to rise across key state institutions, deepening frustration among young professionals who feel excluded from national leadership pathways.

Youth groups argue that the unemployment crisis cannot be addressed if retirees are continually kept in positions meant to create upward mobility.

Questions now mount about whether the administration’s anti-retirement stance was a policy, a public-relations gesture, or a selective tool applied only when politically convenient.

For now, President Mahama faces growing pressure—from labour unions, governance experts, civil society and the very youth constituency he once promised expanded opportunities—to reconcile his public commitments with his governance choices.

Whether the administration will reverse course or defend its reappointments as “strategic exceptions” remains uncertain.