CLOGSAG rejects proposal to make Controller independent

The Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG), has rejected a recommendation by the Constitution Review Committee to make the Controller and Accountant General's Department an independent body separate from the Ministry of Finance.

The Association said the Controller and Accountant General's Department (CAGD) was an implementing arm of the Ministry of Finance and should remain under its administrative oversight to ensure seamless coordination in public financial management.

Addressing a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, Mr Isaac Bampoe Addo, the Executive Secretary, CLOGSAG, said the CAGD executed government accounting, ensured payment control and performed treasury management functions on behalf of the Ministry of Finance.

“As part of the executive machinery responsible for implementing fiscal policy, the CAGD should remain administratively situated within the Ministry of Finance rather than be structurally separated into an independent constitutional body,” he stated.

Dr Daniel Appiah, Secretary of CLOGSAG's internal review committee, said the Constitution Review Committee (CRC) did not provide sufficient justification for the proposed change.

“The Controller and Accountant General's Department is an implementing agency of the Ministry of Finance. Once you make it independent, you introduce another layer of bureaucracy,” he said.

He warned that elevating the Department could create institutional confusion, weaken coordination and delay the processing of salaries and other payments.

“If there are strong reasons why this will enhance prudent public financial management, we are open to discussion. But we did not find any in the committee's report,” he added.

CLOGSAG instead called for the establishment of an Independent Fiscal Responsibility Council, entrenched in the Constitution, to supervise public financial management and check excessive government expenditure.

It said creating such a body through an Act of Parliament alone would make it vulnerable to suspension, citing the suspension of the Fiscal Responsibility Act during the COVID-19 period.

“If it is entrenched in the Constitution, it will not be easy for any government to suspend it at will,” Dr Appiah said, arguing that a constitutionally backed fiscal council would serve as a stronger safeguard against fiscal indiscipline.

Beyond the CAGD issue, CLOGSAG raised concerns over other CRC recommendations affecting the Public Service.

The Association objected to proposals granting the Council of State powers to recruit, vet or make binding nominations for appointments to constitutional bodies and senior public service positions, including the Head of the Civil Service and the Controller and Accountant General.

Such responsibilities, it noted, should remain with the governing councils of the respective services, in consultation with the Public Services Commission, to safeguard merit-based appointments and institutional continuity.

CLOGSAG also recommended the amendment of Article 197 of the Constitution to replace the permissive word “may” with “shall,” to compel the Public Services Commission to issue binding regulations for the governance of the public services.

On proposals to condition the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives on economic viability or population thresholds, the Association said tying democratic participation to such criteria would undermine equal political rights.

CLOGSAG commended the CRC for its extensive work but urged reconsideration of proposals that could, in its view, weaken institutional coherence or create administrative fragmentation within the public services.

GNA