The Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG) has urged the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to outline measures to guarantee the neutrality of the Civil Service in the party’s 2024 manifesto.
The Association expressed concern about political interference of the service, which members said undermined the ability of civil servants to execute their constitutional mandate effectively and without fear or favour.
At a meeting with the NDC’s 2024 Manifesto Team in Accra on Thursday, CLOGSAG told the NDC to work towards permanent neutrality of the Civil Service and abstain from practices that prejudiced the service.
The meeting formed part of engagements with various professional groups to solicit for policy ideas to feed into the NDC’s 2024 manifesto.
Mr Isaac Bampoe Addo, Executive Secretary, CLOGSAG, said infiltration of the Civil Service by political actors would erode institutional memory in the service.
He also asked the NDC team to prioritise the conditions of service of civil servants and address shortfalls in the pension scheme.
“There should be something in your manifesto that when the NDC comes to power, they will uphold the principles of permanent neutrality. It is very dear to us,” he said.
The CLOGSAG asked the NDC to review the current decentralisation structure and build a workable decentralisation system that would ensure the independence of local government.
Touching on pensions, the association asked the NDC to develop a plan to build economic reserves to cover 2027 and 2028, and cautioned that the economy could collapse during that period if such reserves were not created.
On energy, CLOGSAG urged the NDC to invest in green energy technologies such as solar to reduce dependency on expensive energy sources and develop the railway sector to reduce the cost of transportation.
On agriculture, the association recommended huge investments in industrial agriculture to guarantee food security and help reduce food inflation.
“The cutlass and hoe will not help us,” Mr Addo told the team.
Touching on other national issues, Mr Addo said the Presidential Office Act was “unconstitutional” per the Civil Service Act.
He argued that per the Civil Service Act, civil servants were to staff the presidency and not political actors.
“We want the NDC to capture this in their manifesto, but we will be going to the Supreme Court to make it unconstitutional,” he said.
Responding to the recommendations of CLOGSAG, Mr Augustus Goosie Tanoh, a member of the NDC’s Manifesto Team, said the party would prioritise the neutrality of the civil service because “institutional memory of growth resides in the Civil Service.”
Touching on agriculture, he said the next NDC government would address inefficiencies in the value chain, improve irrigation and transportation systems, among other measures to reduce the cost of food.
On the cost of housing and rent, he said the NDC would strengthen the Rent Control Office and incentivise landlords to comply with the law as part of the party’s decentralisation agenda.
“In our new dispensation to serve Ghana, we will go back to our history of ensuring that workers have the voice in policymaking and implementation,” Mr Tanoh said.