Professor of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, Prof. Yaw Adu-Gyamfi, has expressed concern over Ghana’s continued underutilisation of its most experienced professionals due to poor leadership and excessive politicisation.
Speaking on on JoyNews, Prof. Adu-Gyamfi lamented that despite decades of training skilled professionals, the country still relies heavily on foreign contractors, sidelining competent Ghanaians.
“So in that regard, we haven’t done too well. We tend to waste human resources. At Independence, we had less than a thousand doctors. But beyond that, how many engineers or top-tier teachers did we have? We weren’t thinking beyond the civil service as the only employer, and we were quick to push people out through the pension system,” he said.
He criticised the current retirement policy, arguing that it forces capable professionals out of service when they could still contribute meaningfully to national development.
“Take a civil engineer or an architect—these are professions where experience improves performance. Yet at 60, we tell them to go. I don’t mind retirement per se, but the system should be structured to retain their services in a different capacity so they can continue delivering.”
Prof. Adu-Gyamfi also expressed frustration over Ghana’s reliance on foreign contractors for major infrastructure projects.
“Up till now, we still bring in foreign companies to build our roads and coastal defences, despite having institutions like KNUST and Legon for decades. Our coastline is eroding, and we still look outside for help.”
Citing an example from his experience abroad, he said: “Look at Amsterdam—it’s below sea level and was reclaimed 300–400 years ago. At that time, they didn’t have today’s technology, yet they found a way. Meanwhile, with all the granite and resources we have here, our engineers aren’t being empowered to do the same.”
He believes the solution lies in leadership reform and a shift in how institutional knowledge is valued.
“It’s all about leadership and management. When experienced professionals retire, we discard them along with their accumulated knowledge. That’s a huge loss. We should re-engineer the system to retain and harness their expertise.”
He also condemned the politicisation of public service, saying political bias often leads to capable individuals being removed from key positions.
“This over-politicisation is damaging. If you’re from a different political party, even if you’re competent, you’re removed. That’s wrong. People with valuable ideas and vision should be allowed to stay and contribute.”
Prof. Adu-Gyamfi concluded by calling for urgent reforms to Ghana’s leadership structure, institutional systems, and political culture to fully tap into the country’s human resource potential.