'Sanction civil servants engaged in political activities'

Page 17
17-07-08

AN officer of the Legal and Governance Unit of the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), Mr Kojo Asante, has called on the Civil Service to sanction civil servants found engaged in political activities.
According to him, the necessary sanctions should be applied against anyone found to be doing so to maintain the neutrality of the service and not undermine it.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic on Tuesday, Mr Asante noted that the Civil Service was a vital institution of state that was supposed to remain neutral.
The Civil Service Code of Conduct, among other things, prohibits civil servants from engaging in political activities. Section 12 (1) of the code bars them from going into politics.
Mr Asante indicated that there were sanctions spelt out in the code for those who flouted it, saying that sanctions should be applied against those who went against it.
He said Article 94 of the Constitution, for instance, spelt out the eligibility of Members of Parliament (MPs), adding that the other provision was the Political Parties Act of 2000 which barred chiefs from becoming founder members of political parties and canvassing for a political party or a candidate in any public election.
He said the act dealt with active party politics and covered public officers.
Section 26 (2) of the Political Parties Act, for instance, stipulates that “A chief or a public officer shall not engage in canvassing in support of or against a political party or a candidate standing for public election.”
He added that the act was clearly inconsistent with the Constitution.
Section 26 (1) of the act also says a chief or any other person who is not eligible to be elected to Parliament does not qualify to be a founder member, leader or member of the executive of a political party or hold office in a political party.
Mr Asante said under the Political Parties Act, there were no sanctions and that it was up to the institutions to decide on them.