Integrity in public service should be part of national discourse – Prof. Bawole

Professor Justice Nyigmah Bawole, a Professor of Public Administration, says ethical standards and integrity in public service should be an “everyday discussion” to sensitise people on the need to uphold integrity in service to the nation.

He said his interactions with a number of public office holders had revealed that many highly placed people “do not have a sense of public ethics and integrity”, a situation he described as worrying for the State.

Prof. Bawole, who is also the Dean of the University of Ghana Business School, expressed the concern when he delivered the maiden S.N. Woode Memorial Lecture organised by the Institute of Local Government Service (ILGS) at Madina on Friday.

The Lecture celebrated the life and contribution of the late Prof. Woode, a Founding Director of the ILGS, to development of Ghana’s local government architecture and public service.

The Lecture also heralded the launch of the 20th anniversary celebration of the ILGS.

Prof. Bawole said the rate at which corruption, lack of integrity and ethics had been associated with public sector should be a matter of concern.  

“We must continue to talk about public integrity. Let’s discuss it every day and let people be asked to speak about their own integrity.

“Everyone is part of the problem so the more we talk about it then we will get to shine light on it,” he said.

Prof. Bawole urged public administrators to refrain from accepting gifts as doing so could “expose you to many issues of integrity”.

He said public officers must set personal standards and live by those standards to serve as an example for those within the service.

Prof. Bawole called for the development of ethical leadership guides and encouraged public officers to build appropriate coalitions of like-minded persons and seek direction and guidance where necessary.  

“We should mentor the young ones and show them how to navigate a very complex public administration system,” he said.

Prof. Stephen Adei, a former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, said failure on the part of the public sector to effectively deliver on its mandate had dire consequences on the performance of the private sector.

“We must encourage all of us to stand for integrity and honesty in public service. They say the public sector is the engine of growth. If the public sector is not right, there is very little the private sector can achieve,” he said.

Emeritus Prof. Kwasi Kwafo Adarkwa, Chairman, ILGS Council, said the late Prof. Woode was a revered figure in public service administration and touched the lives of many with his exemplary leadership in all the positions he had occupied.

He said the ideals and principles espoused by Prof. Woode should be emulated by public office holders to propel national development.