The Head of the Local Government Service, Dr Nana Ato Arthur, has disclosed that the Service will soon undertake an exercise to lay off Administrative officers from the Local Government Service because the sector is bloated.
According to him, the increased number of Administrative officers in the various Assemblies is responsible for what he calls ‘poor quality service delivery’ within the administrative sector in the Local Government Service in the country.
Making a case for such redundancy exercise, which is to commence soon, the Head of Service said administrative officers, sometimes numbering up to 10 or more are employed to work in one District or Municipal Assembly alone.
This, he argued, create a situation where the number of staff far outnumber the work schedules in these assemblies.
Dr Nana Ato Arthur’s disclosure was contained in a speech read for him at the third National Conference of Ghana National Association of Local Government Service Administrators (GALGA) at Tamale, in the Northern region recently.
However, in a sharp response to what can be described as a threat to the jobs of administrative officers within the Local Government Service, the immediate past Secretary of GALGA, Mr. Andrew Asare Bediako said the Association shall marshal all forces at its disposal to resist any attempt at dismissing its members from work, stressing that Administrative officers cannot be blamed for any over employment, since their members are not in charge of employment at the Local Government Service.
Mr. Bediako pointed out that the surest way to improve quality Service delivery among Administrative officers in the Service is to constantly organise training workshops needed to upgrade and harness the knowledge and skills of personnel in the sector.
Speaking under the theme: “Repositioning the Administrative class in the Local Government Service for improved Service delivery”, the National president of GALGA, Mr. Oliver Opoku Yeboah said the scope and role of administrative officers have not been clearly defined.
He noted that several other challenges have compelled members of the Association to make demands for the head of Service to clarify their role to help improve effective and efficient Service delivery by the Administrative class.
He also bemoaned the lack of respect and recognition for officers in the Administrative class, adding that members of the Association are highly demoralised, upon sighting correspondence emanating from the head of Service, where Administrative Officers are described as office
Clerks and explained that “we are not office clerks”.
The Northern Regional minister, Shani Alhassan Saibu, however, maintained that the government’s vision of championing the development of the country cannot be achieved without the support of efficient and dedicated administrators.
He, therefore, entreated administrative officers to work in total collaboration with other personnel such as the budget and planning officers in everyone Assembly.
From C. K. Clement, Tamale
