Is neutrality allowance justifiable?

One issue that has come up in recent times is the pressure being put on government to pay political neutrality allowance to certain categories of civil servants.

This demand is very strange seeing that all civil and public servants are expected to be politically neutral in their day-to-day activities.

All civil and public servants are different from politicians and so are not expected to meddle in political activities as stipulated in the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. In fact, civil and public servants are expected to keep away from partisan politics but implement political programmes and policies in the interest of the nation.

All civil servants are aware of this that is why when they go wrong they are hardly dismissed but transferred to new places where it is expected that they will change for the better.

A politician can be dropped from office at any point in time but the civil servant is not treated the same way. This shows that he/she is shielded from the shakeups that affect those who occupy political offices.

In light of all this, it is wrong for any group of people to demand political neutrality allowance since the 1992 Constitution makes it clear to them how they are protected and kept away from unwarranted dismissal. It is, therefore, difficult to understand why any civil servant should be paid such ‘unjustifiable’ allowance.

We are encouraging government not to succumb to the payment of this allowance otherwise it will lead to the creation of disorderliness among all workers who operate in the civil and public sectors of the country. If this is the case, then the civil servants concerned should drop the agitation for the payment of this allowance.

If this allowance is paid, then all workers in Ghana apart from politicians should also be made to enjoy same.

The Spectator is of the view that instead of embarking on agitations for these ‘unjustifiable’ allowances, they should rather negotiate with government to improve upon the conditions of workers in a manner that will cut across all sectors and encourage people to work hard.

This objective may not be achieved overnight but we can make consistent efforts towards it until the ultimate goal is achieved.