Source: Ben LARYEA
The Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG) has urged the Public Service Commission (PSC) to institute a comprehensive framework to regulate the various policies requirements of the Ghana Civil Service as prescribed by the constitution in Article 197 pointing out that the respective policies will insulate the civil Service from political abuse.
It is against these backdrop that CLOGSAG have expressed worry about the constituent interference of political cohorts taking over the works and administration of the service machinery.
Speaking at the 5th annual Nathan Annan Quao Lectures in Accra titled, “Abuse of Political power in the Ghana Civil Service: The Bane of National Development, the Executive Secretary of CLOGSAG, Mr. Isaac Bampoe Addo said the practise of political interference in the service have intensified by political parties leading to the creation of jobs for the boys, campaign resources and loyalty, moneycracy associated with political campaigning, involvement of bureaucrats among others.
He said politicians have deliberately created parallel and duplication of institutions with party apparatchiks in the implementation of government policies and programmes as well as the recruitment of party faithfuls as consultants to perform Civil Service functions and end up paying them huge salaries as well as the so called Personal Assignment to Ministers.
“Special Assistants brought in by politicians and the recruitments of party members as consultants to perform routine Civil Service functions receives higher salaries leading to a massive increase in civil service wage bills saying permanent consultancies for key functions of the services have been outsourced to party members”, he charged.
He revealed that foreign training, capacity building workshop for Civil Servants are also hijacked by politicians and have impacted negatively on policy coordination and management.
“Political appointments of Chief Directors and Heads of Departments to the Civil and Local Government Services contravenes the Supreme Court ruling (Writ No. J1//16/2016, of 14th of June, 2017), he revealed further.
“Politicians must desist and resist the temptation of creation avenues of employment for their teeming supports to avoid unnecessary duplications of efforts and wanton dissipation of scarce government resources,” the Executive Secretary concluded.
