An Eight- Member Governing Body of the Civil Service Council has been sworn into office with a call on it to discharge its mandate professionally devoid of partisanship and partiality.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who swore in the council on Tuesday, said his government was committed to working with the Civil Service in an atmosphere of transparency and openness, adding “we see the civil service as a strategic partner of the State, in being able to assist us to realise our objectives.”
The council is chaired by retired Supreme Court Judge and nominee of the President, Justice Rose Constance Owusu.
The other members include Nana Kwasi Agyekum Dwamena, the Head of the Civil Service, Justice Henrietta Abban, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Mr Edwin Barnes, a retired senior Civil Servant, Mr Isaac Kwame Asiamah of the National Development Planning Commission, Mr. Isaac Bampoe Addo of the Civil Servants Association and Mrs Mary Emelda Amadu and Mr. Isaac Tetteh Adjovu, both nominees of the President to the Council
President Akufo-Addo charged the council to execute its duties in line with the provisions of the 1992 constitution that set it up and ensure that the many challenges of the Civil Service is dealt with.
“That is the meaning of a mandate in a democracy, which means the policies on which we were elected are the policies of our people today, and, therefore, all of us have to co-operate in making sure that those policies are realised,” the President stated.
President Akufo-Addo said in recent years, there have been arguments about whether the Civil Service owes its allegiance to the State or to the Government of the day.
He noted, however, that the Civil Service “should be at the heart of the State and should be a body of experienced administrators who will help the Government of the day carry out its mandate.”
The President added that “we are, today, in a multi-party democratic dispensation in Ghana, and it means governments will come and go, but the Civil Service should be there all the time, and provide experienced administrators that can help successive governments discharge their duties.”
He, further, urge the Civil Service Council to deal with issues of promotions, the postings of Chief Directors, amongst others, stressing that “you have to be guided by what is in the interest of the country and the public interest of Ghana.”
Additionally, President Akufo-Addo admonished the council to deal with the problems that have bedeviled the Civil Service over the years – corruption, excessive red tape-ism, excessive bureaucratisation, overt political involvement – stressing that the council has the responsibility in “ensuring that the Civil Service stays on an even keel, and that these matters are confronted.”
President Akufo-Addo said it was his expectation that the council “will give me good and honest advice, advice devoid of partisanship; advice that will help me do my work well. And that you will assist me to give strategic direction to the civil service in the way in which it mobilises and deploys its human resources.”
He expressed delight about the composition of the council, saying he was confident that “the leadership of the body” is in competent hands.
On her part, Chairperson of the Council, Justice Owusu, on behalf of the members of the council, thanked President Akufo-Addo for the honour done and the confidence reposed in them.
“We acknowledge the fact that the task ahead is onerous, but with the help of the Almighty God and his direction, we pledge to discharge the duties attached to this appointment to the best of our abilities.”
“We also thank you sincerely for the privilege of involving us in your noble agenda for the transformation of our dear country, Ghana. We will do our best, and, as you said, the primary consideration being the interest of Ghana and the people of Ghana,” Justice Owusu added.
Source: ISD (Rex Mainoo Yeboah)
