The Civil and Local Government Employees Association of Ghana (CLOSAG) said it has often attracted the displeasure of politicians for sticking to the service’s policies.
According to CLOGSAG, the problem facing the service today is how to navigate the profession and implement the programs of different political parties.
Inaugurating the 5th Nathan Anang Quao Lecture for 2022, CLOGSAG Executive Director, Dr Isaac Bampoe Addo, said they had to constantly walk that fine line.
“In our efforts to be professional in our work and to adhere to the principles on which the service is based, we end up courting dissatisfaction with the political divide,” he stressed.
The executive director also said that the existing bureaucracy in the civil service structure is also seen as a deliberate delaying tactic and is condemned by politicians.
On ‘Abuse of Political Power in Ghana’s Civil Service: A Curse of National Development’, Dr Bampoe Addo further said that following the policies of a particular government or politicians also creates a delicate situation for most civil servants, especially the senior ones. whose work ethic is misconstrued as allegiance to a particular political division.
While admitting that the practice of political meddling had intensified in the Fourth Republic, he said factors such as the maturity of the winners and all and the creation of “jobs for the boys” had largely contributed to the growing level of meddling.
“While there is no single factor that threatens the quality and efficiency of the civil service, politicization cannot be overlooked as one of the contributing factors,” he added.
As we move forward as a nascent democracy, he said there is a need to revisit the critical role of services in ensuring national development.
The lecture is dedicated to Mr. Nathan Anang Quua for being a civil servant who worked for five successive governments from Dr. Kwame Nkrumah after Flt. Jerry John Rawlings without being seen as a sympathizer with any political party.
Independent observers describe it as part of a surviving era of high quality and commitment to civil service.
