Local government boss defends action against sacked staff who contested NDC primaries.

Head of Local Government Service, Dr. Nana Ato Arthur says three members of the service who contested in the recently held NDC parliamentary primaries have been asked to step aside because their action was against the laws of the nation.

According to him, his outfit is only enforcing the rules enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.

Dr. Nana Ato Arthur said “Article 94 3(b) says A person shall not be eligible to be a member of Parliament if he is a member of the Police Service, the Prisons Service, the Armed Forces, the Judicial Service, the Legal Service, the Civil Service, the Audit Service, the Parliamentary Service, the Statistical Service, the Fire Service, the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service, the Immigration Service, or the Internal Revenue Service”.

He noted Local government is not mentioned in the constitution because at the time the constitution was put together the service did not exist but was quick to add that the constitution in Article 190 1(d) made provision for it.

“At the time when this constitution came to force there wasn’t any local government service but the civil service… the local government service by law, parliament prescribed from the civil service and so anywhere you see the civil service that you don’t find local government service, push local government service in where the civil service is,” Dr. Ato Arthur.

Article 190 reads that “The Public Services of Ghana shall include - a) the Civil Service, the Judicial Service, the Audit Service, the Education Service, the Prisons Service, the Parliamentary Service, the Health Service, the Statistical Service, the National Fire Service, the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service, the Internal Revenue Service, the Police Service, the Immigration Service; and the Legal Service;”.

“(b) public corporations other than those set up as commercial ventures; (c) public services established by this Constitution; and (d) such other public services as Parliament may by law prescribe” it adds.

Nana Ato Arthur added that the 3 persons who have been asked to step aside; Alexander Hedidor and Nsoh-Billa Abire, both of whom work at the Kassena-Nankana Municipal Assembly and Alhaji Maazu Abubakar who works with the Builsa South District Assembly; went against a court ruling from 2016.
The Civil and Local Government Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) in 2016 sort clearance from the court if their members are eligible to contest political elections in accordance with the constitution.

The Court ruled that “On a true and proper interpretation of the Constitution, a member of the Civil Service or Local Government Service has a right to join any political party of his or her choice, however, such a person does not have the right to participate overtly in political party activities whilst still a member of the Civil Service or Local Government Service”.

Dr. Nana Ato Arthur further noted that the upcoming referendum to elect MMDCEs will not overwrite the decision saying “you chose to become a civil servant, you chose to become a local government service staff and it comes with rules and regulation… if you get employed you are taken through an orientation where you get to know about the code of ethics, code of conduct… if you know that this thing is infringing on your rights, you bow out”.