President Akufo-Addo in a pose with Janet Fofie and another member at the Jubilee House in Accra
President Akufo-Addo on Friday swore Janet Ampadu Fofie, chair of the Board of the Public Services Commission (PSC), into office.
She was inaugurated alongside another member of the Board, Michael Nana Yaw Aduhene Adu-Darko, at a short ceremony at the Jubilee House.
In brief remarks after he administered the Oaths of Office and Secrecy to the appointees, the president urged the two to ensure an orderly and efficient Public Service.
“It’s your duty see to it that we have an orderly public service in which appointments are based on merit and integrity of character.
“Your surest guide is your conscience and sense of patriotism,” the president said, adding that though the task ahead was arduous, they had been carefully chosen because of their vast experience in the public spheres of the country.
Mrs Ampadu expressed appreciation to the President for the opportunity to serve the nation and assured him that they would be guided by the values of the PSC and work to the best of their abilities to ensure the proper running of the Public Service.
The origins of the Public Services Commission (PSC) date back to 1947 when the colonial government accepted the recommendations of the Haragin Committee for the establishment of Public Services Commissions in colonies such as Gold Coast, Nigeria, the Gambia and Sierra Leone.
The Public Services Commissions were established in the colonies to ensure consolidation and fairness in the appointment of personnel.
In 1948, the Coussey Committee, which was appointed after the 1948 riots to draft a constitution for the country, recommended a full-fledged PSC that would rigorously train and appoint Africans to all positions in the Civil Service and give preference to African candidates in all appointments where they possess the requisite qualifications.
The 1951 Constitution of the Gold Coast for the first time created the PSC to advise the Governor on issues relating to appointments, transfers and disciplinary control of the public officers.
However, the governor was not required to necessarily act in accordance with the advice given him by the Commission.
Today, Article 194 (1) of the fourth Republican Constitution of 1992 states that “there shall be a Public Services Commission which shall perform such functions as assigned to it by this Constitution or by any other law.”
Article 196 of Constitution of 1992 further states that “the Public Services Commission shall have such powers and exercise such supervisory, regulatory and consultative functions as Parliament shall, by law, prescribe, including as may be applicable, the supervision and regulation of entrance and promotion examinations, recruitment, appointment into or promotions within the Public Services and the establishment of guidelines on the terms and conditions of employment in the public services.”
The PSC Act, 1994 (Act 482) provides details on the composition of the Commission and functions of the Secretariat.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent