It goes without saying that a non-partisan Civil Service will enhance the development of any nation, that sector forms the foundation of the administration of any government. Thus, a polarized Civil Service has the proclivity to derail the development agenda of a government that the bulk of the officials are against. The ethnic mix in the service is also an important factor.
One of the country’s finest Economists, Prince Jacob Macauley maintained that the common situation in Sierra Leone is that many Civil Servants belong to one party or the other, and in the event their party comes to power, they are seen at the helm of affairs, and would got= to all lengths to support their party’s development agenda. This situation, he furthered should not be the case. Civil Servants, he stressed should not openly display their allegiance to any party, and should not allow the politicians to influence their work.
Macauley maintained that Civil Servants are the technocrats in the respective MDAs, and should go about their work, devoid of political considerations, because at the end of the day, the Civil Servants are the vote controllers and would have to give account of their stewardship in any matter involving misappropriation of funds, abuse of office etc. Whilst the politician may only be called upon to account for any directive that has to do with the disbursement of funds. In all the Audit Reports produced by the constitutionally established audit entity, most of the queries made are directed to the respective heads of those institutions, which often are held by the Permanent Secretaries. The respective Ministers are only brought in where there are evidences that they actively participated in the in the use of funds, like directives to make payment or take actions in favour of certain people or organizations, as in the case where a minister, the political head of these institutions direct that certain company or entity be awarded contracts, or payment be made to certain people or institutions, after it is clear that the said institution did not meet the criteria for getting the contract.
Economist Macauley maintains that Civil Servants should not openly display their allegiance to any political party; like wearing party colour and campaigning on their behalf, or even accompanying politicians on such campaign trail. He recognized that man is a political animal, but, when one becomes a Civil Servant, he should do his best to stay neutral, and during elections, on polling day, can vote for the candidate of their choice. He struck a comparism between the military and ordinary civilians, where the former, though they may have their preferred choice of political party and candidate, they do not openly show that allegiance to the party, but have a right to vote for the party of their choice. This division between professional work and politics has been the cause for the marked unity and development in the army.
Macauley furthered that this division should be made between one’s commitment to duty and one’s commitment to party. The commitment to duty, he said is paramount, as it is that commitment that will bring about the desired change in any governance structure. He lamented that over the years in Sierra Leone, Civil Servants have not been able to make this divorce, and this has been responsible for the slow growth of the country.
As technocrats, Civil Servants possess the necessary knowledge to implement different projects, as they have the requisite knowledge about the various sectors, whereas, politicians do not, and are barely the political head of those institutions. They lack the expertise to embark on all the development projects of the government. It is due to the absence of this knowledge that politicians should engage with the administrators in their respective institutions to help them produce the necessary results. Against this backdrop, Macauley called on Civil Servants not to allow politicians to use and abuse them for their personal gains, but to do the right thing, and work for the benefit of the nation.
Macauley noted with dismay that currently, there are officials in the service who boast of their political connections than on their ability to deliver on their job, and even go to the extent of intimidating others. This, he noted will in the long run be counter-productive, as it will eventually result in a vicious cycle when another party returns to power. This scenario is a recipe for chaos, and will derail the development agenda that the country so deeply needs.
Macauley observed that what is happening is like a movie, with the youths playing vital roles as actors and actresses, often fighting against each other as if at war, as is seen in movies. This situation, he advanced, may be the result of the economic crisis, unemployment rate and hardship in the country, which has transformed the youths to thuggery.
This hardship and economic downturn has been mainly due to the absence of prudent economic policies to reduce the burden on the masses. He noted that the economic hardship has been the result of bad policies that have driven many businesses to either downsize or close business, leaving many relying on the government for employment. Currently, Macauley noted, the government is the biggest employer, and this has increase the wage bill, thus, revenue generated is being used to pay salaries and little is left to embark on other projects. This, he said, is the reason for so much dependency on donor support.
