Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has asserted that Ghana’s civil service is not politically neutral, contrary to public perception. According to him, partisan interests have long influenced appointments and dismissals within the public sector.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Friday, Mr Kpebu argued that successive governments have historically treated the civil service as an extension of their political machinery, often placing individuals aligned with their agenda in key positions.

“We say the civil service is neutral, but it is not true. If you listen to and read papers from very high-ranking officials, when it comes to the civil service, they are partisan. They help the government in power,” he stated.

“So, when they help the government in power and the next one comes and says, ‘No, what you and the previous government were doing doesn’t align with my manifesto,’ you will go. So, when I hear people saying the civil service is neutral, I’m like, you’re joking.”

Mr Kpebu’s comments come amid ongoing public debate over the recent dismissal and reinstatement of over 100 Bank of Ghana staff, a development that has revived discussions on political interference in public service employment.

He cautioned that political influence in the civil service is deeply ingrained and unlikely to be eliminated anytime soon.

“It can never totally go away, that one is clear, based on experience. From the nature of human beings, no, it cannot end,” he said.

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