Poor treatment of public servants affects quality of service – Former Civil Service chief

Former Head of the Civil Service, Dr Alex Glover-Quartey, has cautioned that Ghana cannot expect high-quality public service if its public servants are underpaid and their working conditions are not improved. In his remarks at the launch of his autobiography, 'The Bureaucrat', in Accra, he emphasized the crucial role played by public servants in implementing government policies and maintaining the country's administrative machinery.

Glover-Quartey highlighted that the welfare of public servants directly impacts the quality of service they provide. He warned that if the government does not adequately compensate workers or provide decent working conditions, it can expect poor service delivery. "If you want to give a pittance to the public servant, you don't care even whether he eats or not, how he goes to work, what happens to him, whether he is able to feed his family or not, you are going to get the quality of service that comes with it," he stated.

The former Civil Service chief also expressed concern over the negative influence of some politicians on national institutions and values. He urged citizens to pay closer attention to the quality of political leadership and its effects on the country. Glover-Quartey acknowledged that transforming the current situation would be challenging but urged citizens to become more vocal about issues affecting the nation.

He criticized the habit of some citizens for silently complaining about problems without taking action to rectify them, urging people to speak up and contribute to positive change.