President Mahama Introduces Pay-for-Performance Framework set to begin January 2026

President John Dramani Mahama has unveiled pay-for-performance framework that promises to revolutionize how the country’s civil servants are compensated and evaluated.

Speaking at the 12th Annual Conference of Public Service Leaders in Volta Region today October 8, 2025,  President Mahama delivered a scathing critique of the current system while outlining ambitious reforms set to begin in January 2026.

“All over the world today, reward is associated with performance, but here we have something we call across across board,” President Mahama stated, highlighting a fundamental flaw in Ghana’s current compensation structure. “So the lazy one gets the hard working one gets the same and what it does is it deters the hard working ones from giving off more than they can.”

The President emphasized that this uniform approach has created a culture of mediocrity that undermines productivity and discourages excellence among public servants.

Reflecting on previous reform attempts, President Mahama candidly shared the challenges faced during earlier initiatives. “I remember when I was minister, we had the first attempt. One of the multilateral institutions made the first attempt, in collaboration with government, to do a pilot, to put in a clocking system,” he recalled.

The biometric system, which tracked employee attendance and work hours, faced significant resistance. “There was almost a strike because it was linked to the accountant general,” the President noted. “We had to back down.”

Drawing comparisons with international work ethics, President Mahama stressed the need for a fundamental shift in attitudes. “In the 21st Century, I mean, why didn’t you come to work and shoot? And yet we go abroad, and it can be snowing, thunderstorm, who appear at work. You know, we need to develop the same attitudes and culture.”

He highlighted common excuses for absenteeism, noting: “Here, he said, Why didn’t you come to work? Oh, my mother’s sister’s Auntie’s daughter died, so we had to go for a funeral or an outdooring or something.”

The comprehensive reform initiative represents a collaborative effort between key government agencies. “The Ministry of Finance, the fair wages and salaries Commission, the Public Service Commission have now created a pay for performance and productivity framework,” President Mahama announced.

The framework aims to establish “a performance driven culture that rewards diligence, information and measurable outcomes in the public service.”

With cautious optimism about the new approach, President Mahama declared: “My hope is that this time this will work accordingly, I’m instructing these agencies to pilot the implementation of the framework starting in January 2026, as a crucial step towards institutionalizing a performance driven culture.”

The pay-for-performance system is designed to:

– Reward high-performing civil servants appropriately

– Reduce absenteeism and improve accountability

– Create measurable productivity standards

– Foster a culture of excellence in public service

– Modernize Ghana’s public sector management

This landmark initiative represents one of the most significant public sector reforms in Ghana’s recent history, potentially setting a precedent for other African nations grappling with similar challenges in public service delivery.

The success of this framework could mark a turning point in Ghana’s quest for efficient, accountable, and performance-driven governance.