The Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG) has rejected a proposal by the Constitution Review Committee to make the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) an independent body separate from the Ministry of Finance.
The association said the department was an implementing arm of the Finance Ministry and should remain under its administrative oversight to ensure effective coordination in public financial management.
Addressing a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, the Executive Secretary of CLOGSAG, Isaac Bampoe Addo, said the CAGD played a central role in executing government accounting functions, controlling payments and managing treasury operations on behalf of the Finance Ministry.
“As part of the executive machinery responsible for implementing fiscal policy, the CAGD should remain administratively situated within the Ministry of Finance rather than be structurally separated into an independent constitutional body,” he stated.
The Secretary of CLOGSAG’s internal review committee, Daniel Appiah, said the Constitution Review Committee did not provide sufficient justification for the proposed change.
“The Controller and Accountant General’s Department is an implementing agency of the Ministry of Finance. Once you make it independent, you introduce another layer of bureaucracy,” he said.
He warned that elevating the department to an independent constitutional status could create institutional confusion, weaken coordination between government financial institutions and potentially delay the processing of salaries and other public payments.
“If there are strong reasons why this will enhance prudent public financial management, we are open to discussion. But we did not find any in the committee’s report,” he added.
Instead of separating the CAGD from the Finance Ministry, CLOGSAG called for the creation of an Independent Fiscal Responsibility Council entrenched in the Constitution to oversee public financial management and check excessive government spending.
The association argued that establishing such a body solely through an Act of Parliament would leave it vulnerable to suspension, citing the suspension of the Fiscal Responsibility Act during the COVID-19 period.
“If it is entrenched in the Constitution, it will not be easy for any government to suspend it at will,” Dr Appiah said, adding that a constitutionally backed fiscal council would serve as a stronger safeguard against fiscal indiscipline.
Beyond the proposal affecting the CAGD, CLOGSAG also raised concerns about other recommendations by the Constitution Review Committee relating to the governance of the public service.
The association objected to proposals that would grant the Council of State powers to recruit, vet or make binding nominations for appointments to constitutional bodies and senior public service positions, including the Head of the Civil Service and the Controller and Accountant General.
CLOGSAG maintained that such responsibilities should remain with the governing councils of the respective services in consultation with the Public Services Commission, arguing that this would protect merit-based appointments and ensure institutional continuity.
The association further recommended an amendment to Article 197 of the Constitution to replace the word “may” with “shall”, a change it said would compel the Public Services Commission to issue binding regulations governing the operations of the public services.
It also criticised proposals that would make the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives dependent on economic viability or population thresholds, warning that tying democratic participation to such criteria could undermine equal political rights.
While acknowledging the extensive work undertaken by the Constitution Review Committee, CLOGSAG urged it to reconsider proposals that, in the association’s view, could weaken institutional coherence or create administrative fragmentation within Ghana’s public service system.
SOURCE: GNA
