Accra – Tuesday March 27, 2018: The Head of Local Government Service, Ing. Dr. Nana Ato Arthur joined other panelists at a colloquium organised by the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (GLOGSAG) on political neutrality which was also informed by the Supreme Court ruling on political neutrality of staff in the Civil and Local Government Services. The colloquium was under the theme: “the CLOGSAG Neutrality Project, a new dawn in the Civil and Local Government Services”.
The Chairman of the Public Services Commission, Mrs. Bridgette Katsriku who chaired the event stressed the need for officers of the Civil and Local Government Services to be apolitical. She bemoaned the compromised political neutrality of public officers since the 2000’s and attributed that unfortunate phenomenon to factors such as appointment of political sympathisers, politicians’ quest to work with those they trust, and the attraction of Civil and Local Government Staff to political activism.
Mrs. Katsriku mentioned the benefits of political neutrality to include ability for staff to master expertise, skills and knowledge; confidence to give expert advice to politicians; forthright in telling the truth to power; and retention of key staff. This according to her is critical to ensure the availability of staff with a store of institutional memory to assist in-coming governments build on the achievements of predecessors by benchmarking and appreciating existing challenges and strategies for better policy decisions making and implementation.
Dr. Arthur in response to the Supreme Court Ruling emphasised the importance and place of professionalism in the performance of duties by public officers. He said, although staff of the Civil and Local Government Services might belong to political parties, it was important that they exhibited professionalism and that they could not overtly participate in politics.
Special Guests also present were the Minister of Employment & Labour Relations, Hon. Ignatius Baffour Awuah; the Head of Civil Service, Nana Agyekum Dwamena; a Legal Practitioner and Former Minister of Gender, Children & Social Protection, Hon. Nana Oye Lithur; the Former Chief Director, Ministry of Communication, Dr. Kwaku Ofosu-Adarkwa and the Chairpersons and Members of the Civil and Local Government Service Councils.