Civil servants await policy directions from new government appointees
A day into the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration, the various ministries are preparing in earnest to welcome new ministers with the replacement furniture, updating of websites and preparation of inputs into their sector budgets.
Advertisement
Checks by the Daily Graphic at the ministries on Monday revealed that chief directors of the various ministries and unit heads had been holding meetings in preparation for their new executive heads, the first working day since President Akufo-Addo was sworn into office.
Although almost all spaces at car parks within the ministries were occupied, the spaces left for ministers and their deputies were unmistakably empty.
Civil servants also turned up for their normal routines after a weekend during which the new regime was ushered in.
Many of them, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that the change in administration would not affect their work, as their allegiance was to the state, not governments.
For them, it was business as usual in an air of quietness.
Waiting for ministers
At the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, directors and unit heads were said to be in a meeting at 9 a.m. when the Daily Graphic team visited.
Across the premises to the Ministries of Petroleum and Energy and Power, the story was not different, with receptionists busily attending to guests.
At those ministries, the sprawling market of food vendors, which usually competed with vehicles for space, was glaring.
Ministry of Finance
At the Ministry of Finance, the Head of Public Relations, Ms Cecilia Isabella Akwetey, said the ministry’s preparation for the transition started with the preparation of handover notes, as stipulated by law, and a subsequent meeting with the Transitional Team.
She said work had not come to a halt in the absence of a minister, as most of the ministry’s work were time bound, with consequences for delays.
“At the Finance Ministry, we don’t stop work because a new minister is yet to be appointed. We have debts to pay and when you miss the deadlines, you have to pay penalties,” she said.
Ms Akwetey said the ministry was currently preparing the portions of the 2017 budget that could be done without an executive head, while it awaited major policy directions from the new administration for portions that required them.
She was, however, quick to add that everything was being done within the law and that where it was necessary, there was consultation with the Finance sub-committee of the Transitional Team.
Education Ministry
At the Ministry of Education, the Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr Dan Osman Mwin, said given that the day was the first after a new administration had taken over, there was a meeting among the various directors of the ministry to examine the handover notes and take steps on aspects that required urgent attention.
He told the Daily Graphic that the ministry was also working on its budget, including what would be required for furnishing the offices of the new appointees, such as furniture and fittings.
He said while governments and political appointees would come and go, it was the duty of civil servants to keep the state machinery running in the absence of political heads at the ministries.
“It is our duty to guide them to do their work well. So even though the ministry may have its vision, the coming minister may also have plans to complement it,” he stated.
Website update
At the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the PRO, Mr Nelson Kofi Akatey, said the ministry was not on break.
“We are at work because we are not part of the changing process. We will continue to do our work as civil servants as expected,” he said.
He, however, said it was his expectation that the new administration would motivate the staff, not necessarily with money but with a congenial work environment.
He said that while pointing at a lone malfunctioning computer monitor on a desk and a gaping air-condition hole in a wall.
His counterpart at the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Mr Frank Siaw-Otoo, said the ministry would begin work on updating its website and social media pages after a new minister had taken office.