The Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG) has appealed to President John Dramani Mahama to withdraw the appointment of the new Registrar of the Births and Deaths Registry.
The Association said the appointment of Mr Samuel Adom Botchway as Registrar violated a 2017 Supreme Court Ruling on neutrality of the Civil and Local Government Service which barred politicians from meddling in the administration of the service.
Delivering a statement at a durbar at the Birth and Death Registry in Accra on Friday, Mr Kojo Krakani, the Deputy Executive Secretary, CLOGSAG, said the appointments of persons who were known activists of political parties would undermine the neutrality of the service.
“Samuel Adom Botchway is a known activist of the National Democratic Congress and was once the District Chief Executive for Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District Assembly in the Central Region,” he said.
He appealed to the President to withdraw the appointment “as a matter of urgency” adding that “the negative impact of the appointment of political apparatchiks in the service cannot be underestimated.
Article 195 of the 1992 Constitution, and Section two of Registration of Birth and Death ACT 2020 (Act 1027), requires that the President appoints a Registrar of Births and Deaths.
As part of his/her function, the Registrar would be responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Registry and shall keep and maintain the national register of births, foetal deaths, and deaths.
The CLOSAG leadership said it would direct its members to lay down their tools if their appeal was not heeded to.
“We encourage you to safeguard the Civil Service and Local Government Service and protect it religiously by resisting infiltration by politicians.” Mr Kakrani said.
In 2022, the CLOGSAG kicked against the appointment of Mrs Henrietta Lamptey as Registrar of the Births and Deaths Registry.
The Association argued at the time that the appointment process was at variance with normal practice.
The Association subsequently filed a suit at the High Court, challenging the appointment.
Among the reliefs sought by CLOGSAG was a declaration that “the Births and Deaths Registry is a Civil Service Institution,” and further or in the alternative, a declaration that the Head of Civil Service, “must have an input in the appointment of the Registrar of the Births and Deaths as provided by law.”
The Court is yet to deliver judgment on the case.
GNA