He said the government was committed to working with the Civil Service in an atmosphere of transparency and openness, adding, “We see the Civil Service as a strategic partner of the state, in being able to assist us to realise our objectives.”

President Akufo-Addo made the remarks when he swore into office an eight-member Civil Service Council at the Flagstaff House on Tuesday.

The council is chaired by Justice Rose Constance Owusu, a retired Supreme Court Judge. The other members of the council are Nana Kwasi Agyekum Dwamena, Ms Justice Henrietta Abban, Mr Edwin P.D. Barnes, Mr Isaac Kwame Asiamah, Mr Isaac Bampoe Addo, Madam Mary Imelda Amadu and Mr Isaac Tetteh Adjovu.

President Akufo-Addo said the objectives of the government were paramount today because Ghanaians accepted the platform which he and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presented to them in the run-up to the December 2016 elections.

President Akufo-Addo said in recent years, there had been arguments about whether the Civil Service owed its allegiance to the state, or to the government of the day.

He said, however, that the Civil Service “should be at the heart of the state, and should be a body of experienced administrators who will help the government of the day carry out its mandate.”

 “We are, today, in a multi-party, democratic framework in Ghana, and it means governments will come and go, but the Civil Service should be there all the time, and provide experienced administrators that can help successive governments discharge their duties.”

He, thus, urged the Civil Service Council to deal with issues of promotions and the postings of chief directors, stressing that “you have to be guided by what is in the interest of the country and the public interest of Ghana”.

Additionally, President Akufo-Addo advised the council to deal with the problems that had bedevilled the Civil Service over the years, such as corruption, excessive red tapeism and bureaucratisation, as well as overt political involvement.

 He said the council had the responsibility for “ensuring that the Civil Service stays on an even keel, and that these matters are confronted.”

He said it was his expectation that the council would give him good and honest advice devoid of partisanship that would help him to do his work well and assist him to give strategic direction to the Civil Service.

 For her part, the Chairperson of the council, Ms Justice Rose Owusu, on behalf of the other members of the council, thanked President Akufo-Addo for the honour and the confidence reposed in them.

“We acknowledge the fact that the task ahead is onerous, but with the help of the Almighty God and his direction, we pledge to discharge the duties attached to this appointment to the best of our abilities,” she said.