Accra: Dr Daniel Appiah, a lecturer and political governance expert, has emphasized the need for Ghana's democracy to achieve high development outcomes through a strong and merit-based Civil Service. Speaking at the 8th Nathan Anan Quao Lecture and Excellence Awards 2025, organized by the Civil and Local Government Staff Association (CLOGSAG) in Accra, he highlighted the importance of insulating the Civil Service from partisanship and political interference.
According to Ghana News Agency, Dr Appiah underscored that public administration should be anchored in meritocratic recruitment, equal rights, and impartiality, structured to function effectively within a multi-party democracy. He believes such reforms would ensure competence, independence, and non-partisanship in public service delivery. Dr Appiah noted that Ghana's Civil Service had previously outperformed those of Indonesia and South Korea post-independence but had since lagged due to weakened institutional structures.
Dr Appiah explained that countries with advanced Civil Service systems either established merit-based structures before adopting multi-party democracy or had systems that shielded the bureaucracy from political influence. He stated, 'We need to create a competent, non-partisan, impartial and effective civil service to help every government in power bring development to the citizens, especially as our elected Presidents are expected to perform magic with the limited four-year tenure.'
The focus, according to Dr Appiah, should be on leadership and capacity-building rather than solely on qualifications. He emphasized, 'It's not just a matter of the certificates, it's about their values, their capacity and their competence for trying to do the job.' He called for a stronger civil service training school to build leadership and technical capacity, asserting that 'leadership is not God-given, leadership is learned and leaders must be trained on how to lead.'
Mr. Isaac Bampoe Addo, Executive Secretary of CLOGSAG, expressed concerns over the government's disregard for Article 195 of the Constitution and the Presidential Transition Act, 2012 (Act 845), warning that it undermined principles like transparency, accountability, and rule of law. He cautioned that these issues, if unaddressed, could affect Ghana's Public-Private Partnership initiative.
Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, Deputy Chief of Staff, noted that the ongoing Constitutional Review Process presented an opportunity to strengthen and insulate the mandates of public service, local government, and civil service. She mentioned that the Office of the President had submitted a memorandum from a committee, including representatives from the Trade Union Congress, Public Service, and Civil Service, to the Constitutional Review Committee. Madam Addo clarified that President Mahama had acted within the law in appointing Chief Executive Officers for state agencies under the presumptive principle.
Citations and awards were presented to outstanding civil servants at the lecture. Dr Evans Agbeme Dzikum, who has served for four decades, was adjudged the overall best and received the Nathan Anan Quao Award for Excellence in Leadership. Other recipients were recognized for selflessness, professionalism, and leadership. The late Nathan Anan Quao was a distinguished diplomat and civil servant known for upholding values of impartiality, competence, and transparency under successive governments from Dr Kwame Nkrumah's era through to the late 1990s.
