Trimming the tree, not the roots

THE recent announcement by the Finance ministry that the government will freeze recruitment into most civil service jobs in 2026, sparing only the health, education and security sectors, has triggered national debate.

On the surface, the policy appears logical and even commendable—an attempt to rein in a runaway public sector wage bill that now devours an alarming 56% of the national budget.

But beneath this veneer of fiscal discipline lies a far more troubling reality: the government is not curing the disease; it is treating the symptoms.

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