Scandal hits Civil Service

Staff of several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) who have not been promoted for years have resorted to desperate measures to get promotions.

Some of them have been on the same scale for over 10 years without any promotion.

This year, the situation has been compounded by government’s inability to release budgetary allocations to MDAs.

Some MDAs are unable to raise money to pay the office of the Head of Civil Service to engage the services of experts to conduct promotional interviews.

Consequently, civil servants due for promotion this year in some of the MDAs have to pay money to be interviewed. The money is given to panel members who conduct the interviews.

The Finder’s investigations revealed that, for instance, senior staff of the Information Services Department (ISD) due for promotions this year are paying GH?180 each while junior staff are paying GH?120 each to be interviewed.

According to our information, the ISD staff are only doing what their colleagues in other MDAs did to get their promotions.

Our sources say the practice is that after everyone fully pays, the money will be presented to the Director of the ISD, who will in turn pay it to the office of the Head of Civil Service for the interviews to be conducted.

The Finder’s investigations at the office of the Head of Civil Service indicate that the act is illegal and should not be condoned.

The investigations revealed that the responsibility for catering for the panel during interviews rests with the MDAs, who normally budget for such expenditure; therefore, it is illegal for individuals to pay such monies.

The payment is the responsibility of the MDAs, who factor it into their budgetary allocations.

According to sources, MDAs present a list of staff qualified for promotions to the office of the Head of Civil Service and dates are scheduled.

The source explained that a three-member interview panel is usually constituted, which is made of one staff at the office of the Head of Civil Service in the position of a director or deputy director, who chairs a staff from the institution who is senior to those being interviewed, together with one other person.

The chair of the panel is paid Ghc150 a day while members of the panel receive Ghc100 per day.

For effectiveness and efficiency, the panel interviews five staff per day.

According to the source, employees of the Civil Service have to attend promotional interviews every three years and people who qualify for promotions from this year have to attend compulsory refresher courses before they would be interviewed.

Efforts to reach the Director of the ISD, Mr Elvis Adanyina, to comment on the issue were unsuccessful.