By Patrick Biddah
The Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana ( CLOSAG) has said that it has often times attracted the disaffection of politicians for sticking to the principles of the service.
According to CLOGSAG, the difficulties the service faces today is how to navigate being professional and implementing the programmes of the various political parties.
Speaking at the launch of the 5th Nathan Anang Quao Lecture for 2022, the Executive Director of CLOGSAG, Dr Isaac Bampoe Addo, said they have had to navigate these thin line all the time .
“ In our quest to be professional in our work and stick to the principles underpinning the service, we end up courting disaffection from political divide “, he stressed.
The Executive Director , also indicated that the existing bureaucracy within the Civil Service structure is also perceived as a deliberate delay tactics and frowned upon by politicians.
Under the theme “Abuse Of Political Power In The Ghana Civil Service : The Bane Of National Development “, Dr Bampoe Addo, further said compliance with policies of a particular government or politicians also creates a delicate situation for most Civil Servants , particularly the senior ones whose work ethics are misconstrued as allegiance to a particular political divide.
Whiles, admitting that the practice of political interference has intensified in the fourth Republic, he said factors such as the winner- take- all mature and the creation of “ jobs for the boys “ have largely contributed to the increasing rate of interference.
“ Whereas there is no single factor that has compromised the quality and effectiveness of the Civil Service, one cannot disregard Politicization as one of the contributory factors “, he added.
Moving forward as a fledgling democracy, he said there is the need to re-look at the critical role of the services to ensure National Development.
The lecture is dedicated to Mr Nathan Anang Quuao for being a civil servant who worked for five successive governments spanning from Dr Kwame Nkrumah to Flt Lt.Jerry John Rawlings, without being seen as sympathetic to any political party.
He is described by independent observers as part of a survivor of an era with high quality and dedication to the Civil Service.
