THE EQUILIBRIUM NOBODY WANTS IN GHANA'S CIVIL SERVICE: POLITICAL SURVIVAL, PROFESSIONAL NEUTRALITY, AND THE COORDINATION PROBLEM
INTRODUCTION There is a pattern familiar to almost every Ghanaian who has worked in or around government. Elections do not simply change governments; they also trigger a predictable cycle within the civil service. Senior officials are reassigned, some are sidelined, others seek to establish working relationships with the incoming administration, and politicians move quickly to place trusted personnel in strategic positions. The pattern is so familiar that it is often treated as an unavoidable feature of Ghanaian politics. The usual explanations for this phenomenon tend to focus on the behaviour of individuals. Politicians are accused of politicising the civil service, while bureaucrats are accused of serving political interests rather than the public interest. The debate often revolves around questions of loyalty, professionalism, ethics , and competence. While these concerns are important, they do not fully explain why similar patterns emerge across administrations regardle...