Head of Civil Service Visits ISD, Addresses Key Operational Challenges
The Head of the Civil Service, Dr Evans Aggrey-Darkoh, and his management team have paid a working visit to the Information Services Department (ISD) to meet with management and gain first-hand insight into the Department’s operations, achievements, and challenges.
The visit, which took place on Thursday, aimed to strengthen engagement with institutions under the Civil Service and identify opportunities for improving service delivery and organisational performance.
In his opening remarks, Dr Aggrey-Darkoh commended the Department for disseminating government policies, programmes, and initiatives to the public, and encouraged staff to remain committed to professionalism and excellence in discharging their duties.
He explained that the Civil Service leadership is moving away from relying solely on static reports, choosing instead to engage directly with operating units to understand daily working conditions and co-create practical solutions.
Citing insights from a World Bank report on the global public sector workforce, he noted that enhancing workforce productivity requires aligning function deployments with the necessary logistical resources, prioritising staff welfare, and cultivating emotional intelligence in leadership.
Addressing specific concerns raised, Dr Aggrey-Darkoh tackled several key administrative and welfare issues. On the longstanding grading concern regarding ISD officers being unable to progress beyond Grade 22, he revealed that a framework has been developed to deal with these matters.
Although progress has faced delays due to legal challenges and injunctions, he noted that efforts are ongoing behind the scenes to harmonise the grading structure, expressing optimism that “we will have closure very soon as we work through these issues.”
Touching on conversions, he explained that the temporary measure was introduced to address structural imbalances and prevent certain grades and classes within the Civil Service from becoming severely depleted, while authorities review long-term solutions to make affected areas more attractive.
On capacity building and professional development, Dr Aggrey-Darkoh pointed out continuous learning, encouraging officers to take advantage of available scholarship opportunities to constantly update their knowledge in view of the evolving communication landscape.
The Head of Civil Service acknowledged that public sector salary disparities remain a major challenge driven by instances where certain institutions set independent salary structures.
He assured staff that the Civil Service Council and leadership are actively engaging stakeholders on remuneration, affirming, “The Civil Service Council and myself, we are dealing with all of it… We are passionate about those matters.”
Speaking on the strategic value of public communication, Dr Aggrey-Darkoh cautioned officers against the mismanagement of information in an era marked by social media and overwhelming information flows.
He urged government communicators to exercise high professional diligence, safeguard information integrity, and handle Right to Information (RTI) channels with appropriate care.
According to him, the Civil Service operates as a single, interconnected system, indicating that the performance and conduct of one institution directly affect the entire public sector.
On her part, the Acting Director of ISD, Dr Winnifred Nafisa Mahama, outlined the department’s ongoing transformation into a modern, smart information hub guided by its core mandate of empowering citizens through credible communication.
She presented the department’s newly released organogram, which establishes specialised technical divisions including Public Education Coordination, Public Relations Coordination, Access to Information, Media, and Research.
Dr Mahama, however, disclosed several operational challenges. She revealed that severe staffing shortages persist in decentralised district offices, with some posts manned by a single officer.
She explained that recruiting personnel centrally and posting them to distant districts often leads to high resignation rates, as new staff struggle to adapt to local environmental and living conditions.
To address this, she strongly advocated for localised recruitment, which would engage graduates who already understand local languages and conditions, thereby eliminating transport and housing costs while improving staff retention.
She also noted infrastructural issues, stating that severe sewage blockages recently forced the temporary closure of the department’s historical statistical library, which houses archives dating back to 1957, while financial constraints continue to limit the department’s ability to execute large-scale nationwide public perception surveys and expand its broader public education campaigns.
Margaret Adjeley Sowah, ISD
