Mr. Paul Evans Aidoo, Western Regional Minister, has urged public officers to uphold public trust in the performance of their duties.
Mr. Aidoo said the code of conduct requires employees to place loyalty above personal gains and office holders should not engage in transactions using confidential information or allow the improper use of such information
to further any private gain.
He stated this in an address, read for him by Mr. David Yaro, Chief Director of the Western Regional Coordinating Council, (RCC) at a training workshop on the Code of Conduct for Public Officers.
It was organized by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) at Sekondi and attended by regional heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
He said, "Public servants should not concur in the use of public funds contrary to existing laws, but discard favouritism or nepotism and avoid furthering interest of foreign countries to the detriment of the Motherland".
Mr. Aidoo said the quest for a Code of Conduct among public officers remained the major preoccupation of the government and civil organizations.
He said it would be undesirable if public officers used their positions to manipulate power, abuse both public management and professional authority for personal benefit regardless of their status or that of the institution.
Mr. Aidoo said awards, promotions, advances and Certificates of Recognition could be created as incentives to reward ethical behaviour among
public service employees at the workplaces to achieve maximum productivity.
In the same vein, he said, sanctions such as demotion, dismissal and prosecution should be the lot of offending officers.
"I believe that we should adhere to maintaining codes, as prescribed, to promote a strong public image and strive to operate with the utmost of integrity and honour," Mr. Aidoo said.
He added that, "As public officers, we should be able to confront the challenges that engage us on daily basis in the line of duty such as potential conflicts of interest, mismanagement of contracts and agreements".
Mr. Richard Quayson, a Deputy Commissioner of the CHRAJ, who spoke on the "Overview of the Code of Conduct for Public Office Holders," said it sets out values, principles and standards of acceptable ethical behaviour.
Mr. Quayson said it seeks to contribute to the promotion of high standard of ethics in the public service and ensure that public officials
are accountable to the people and would discharge their duties with utmost responsibility, competence and loyalty.
The code is to foster patriotism and justice, as well as to promote good governance, transparency and accountability among public officers and to improve the image of the Public Service, in Ghana.
Mr. Quayson said the code requires public officers not to bring the Public Service into disrepute through their official and private activities and to maintain political neutrality in the performance of their functions.
It is based on five general principles and values and Ministries, Departments and Agencies and other public institutions are required to
develop codes of conduct specific to their organizations within the framework of the code.
Mr. Quayson said the Code of Conduct is a generic document setting out the minimum standards of ethical behaviour required of Public Officers.
He said a National Ethics Advisory Committee has established to help promote high ethical standards within the public service.
The Committee is also to help formulate, monitor and evaluate plans for promoting high ethical standards in the public service and review in-house codes and recommend best practices.
He said a Code of Conduct for Public Officers is extremely important in a democratic society because it offers the framework within which public officers could carry out their public responsibilities.
It increases the probability of public officers behaving in ways generally acceptable to the society and focuses public officers on actions that result in doing the right things for the right reasons.