The New Patriotic Party (NPP) widely credited as the longest serving tradition in Ghana and founded on an important principle of rule of law, freedom and respect for human rights; has set down rules and guidelines for electing new national officers to steer their affairs in the next four (4) years. The Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Employment Agency (Y.E.A) Lawyer Justin Koduah has openly declared his intent contest the General Secratary position of the NPP. Justin Koduah is seen in pictures campaigning with what has been described by sections within the NPP as “state resources.”
Constitutionally, per article 190, all civil servants are a subset of Public servants. Indeed, the NPP has effectively restricted Ministers, deputy ministers, MMDCES etc from this exercise via a directive. But, why would the NPP expressly restrict these government officials from its inter-party jostling? The NPP must have been prompted by the provisions in the 1992 constitution. In an earlier case of Kwadjoga Adra V. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) & 5 Others (Writ No. J1/13/2014), the Supreme Court of Ghana refused the plaintiff’s action. The court in narrowly distinguishing the two defendants from being members/employees of civil service, must have adopted a literal rule of interpretation in establishing that the two defendants( employees of GES, Ghana Highway Authority) were members of article 190 and excluded from the effectiveness of article 94 (3) b. However, article 55, 8 conclusively states the characteristics of persons who cannot be executives of a political party in Ghana and that should be read together with article 94(3)b. Thus far, the NPP ought to update its exclusionary list of members disqualified from holding party positions with immediate effect.
However, in its later ruling of Writ No. : J1/16/2016) [Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOSSAG) v. The Attorney-General & 2 Others]; the Supreme Court of Ghana, on the true and proper interpretation of article 12(2), article 21(3), article 21(1) (a) and (d), article 35(6)(d), article 55(1), (2) and (10) and article 284 of the 1992 Constitution, held that, while employees of the civil service and local government service have a right to join any political party; they cannot be seen as or openly engage in any political activities while maintaining their employee status with the civil or local government service.
The establishment of Y.E.A is governed by the Youth Employment Agency Act 2015, Act 887) and regulated under
the Youth Employment Agency Regulations 2016, L.I. 2231. Indeed, on 8th August, 2019; the Public Services Commission (PSC) issued a directive No. AB677/678/01. Per this directive “a Public Officer who intends to take part in active political activities, whether directly or indirectly, should first resign from the Public Service before taking the proximate step towards the realization of the ambition to be a Member of Parliament or engage in open party Politics.”
Accordingly, this directive from the Public Service Commision appears to have duly acknowledged the Supreme Court’s ratio in its later and recent case of the ‘Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOSSAG) v. The Attorney-General & 2 Others’ decided in 2017. The worthiness of this directive from the Public Service Commission applies effectively to the Y.E.A. What makes it unpardonable is that, Justin Kodua is a lawyer who ought to have known better that his actions flies in the face of the established laws of Ghana. Indeed, his ignorance of same cannot suffice as an excuse.
In the same vein, as a lawyer, Justin Kodua is expected to have a firm appreciation of what fiduciary duty he owes to Y.E.A as its CEO. Indeed, the comfortably factual or possible use of ‘state resource’ by Justin Koduah to contest the General Secretary position of NPP cannot be brushed aside. With the growing unemployment rate among the youthful population in Ghana, isn’t it unconscionable and morally wrong for a CEO of Y.E.A who is tasked to mitigate the growing unemployment be seen as diverting ‘STATE RESOURCES’ in to the pursuit of his personal ambition? It should put Justin Koduah in a very conflicting position which goes contrary to the intention of parliament and the public service commision in excluding persons such as Justin Koduah from engaging in party politics.
The NPP, its elders and its delegates cannot pretend to not see the consequences of these plain wrongs by persons like Justin Koduah. Indeed, it seems that, because Justin Koduah as the CEO led the way to this wrong action, his subordinates such as an NDC turn coat who joined the NPP recently and was made the P.R.O of Y.E.A, a certain Awal Mohammed feels emboldened to abandon his important role as P.R.O to contest for another National Position of NPP. How can the NPP accept this recklessness from employees of a serious institution which was set up to solve the growing unemployment rate in Ghana? Is the NPP not shocked at these plain disregard for the rule of law and the disrespect to the ordinary Ghanaian?
Source: Nana Kwaku Dua (Contributor)
