By Kodjo Adams
Accra, April 23, GNA – Dr Esther Ofei-Aboagye, Local Governance Expert, has urged institutions to discharge their responsibilities with integrity and fairness to build a lasting trust in the country’s governance architecture.
“Fairness must be non-negotiable, and every child should know that advancement comes by merit, not favour.
“Progress becomes real when every worker is given a fair chance,” she said during a lecture on Wednesday in Accra.
The lecture was organised by the Institute of Work, Employment and Society (IWES) of the University of Professional Studies, Accra, and funded by the Star Ghana Foundation to mark the International Workers Day.
It was on the theme: “Decent Work, Real Recognition: Rising by Merit”.
Dr Ofei-Aboagye said the country envisioned that every citizen must work with dignity, be recognised fairly, and advanced by merit.
“When individuals know that their effort will be rewarded and their integrity acknowledged, they are motivated to give their best, take pride in their work, and contribute to their own well-being and to the nation,” she said.
“As a nation, we must shift from entitlement to effort, patronage to fairness, silence to recognition, exclusion to opportunity, and cynicism to collective responsibility.”
“Operationalising decent work, meaningful recognition, and credible merit systems is a shared responsibility.”
The government, she stated, must lead through policy, regulation, oversight, and enforcement to ensure adherence to labour standards, strengthening inspections and transparent recruitment.
Dr Ofei-Aboagye urged the authorities to expand social protection interventions and invest in technical and digital skills to create job opportunities for the citizens.
“Employers must provide safe workplaces, credible recognition systems, and reward integrity,” she said.
“They must adopt transparent human resource systems that are gender-sensitive and socially inclusive.”
Every Ghanaian, Dr Ofei-Aboagye said, was entitled to decent work, real recognition, and the chance to rise by merit through advancement that was fair, context-responsive, and grounded in equitable opportunities to be acknowledged and rewarded.
Apart from the Labour Act, there are other legislations that provide a legal foundation for safeguarding equity and decent work.
They include Ghana’s Domestic Violence Act, 2007 (Act 732), the Affirmative Action
(Gender Equity) Act, 2024 (Act 1121), and the Social Protection Act, 2026 (Act 1148).
Dr Erika Mamley Osae, Acting Director, IWES, said when people were assured of decent work, the quality of human capital for national development was strengthened.
She said the country had witnessed a gap between effort and reward, contribution and recognition, calling for urgent attention to address the situation.
The theme, she said, would stimulate critical reflections on how society rewarded performance instead of favouritism.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
23 April 2026