The Head of the Local Government Service (LGS), Professor Lord Mensah, has announced a firm nationwide crackdown on the illegal alteration of dates of birth by local government staff, describing the practice as a serious criminal offence that threatens the integrity of the public service.
According to him, management has uncovered cases where some staff sometimes with the connivance of human resource personnel, unlawfully alter their dates of birth close to retirement.
“It has come to the attention of management that some human resource officers connive with the officers to unlawfully alter the date of birth in official records. We know the channels of changing this date of birthis not only restricted to the HR directors. It goes beyond the local government service. But we are cautioning our officers. And we’re tracing all the way to whichever channels that are used for this activity”. He averred.
He disclosed that national security agencies have been engaged to support ongoing investigations and warned that any officer found culpable will face the full rigours of the law, in addition to administrative and disciplinary sanctions.
“This process constitutes a criminal offence and determines the integrity, undermines the integrity of the service. The national security has been engaged to support ongoing investigations. And a number of HR officers Any officer found culpable will be subject to the full regards of the laws of this country”.
Prof. Lord Mensah made this known on Monday during his working visit to the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), the first stop of his nationwide tour of Regional Coordinating Councils and selected Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
The distinguished Financial Economist, appointed in 2025 by President John Mahama to head the Local Government Service, outlined his vision for the Service, which is anchored on four key pillars: Data-Driven Decision-Making, Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) Fiscal Decentralisation,and professionalism.
He stressed that all decisions relating to postings, promotions, deployments and resource allocation must be guided strictly by credible data, not personal relationships, ethnicity or favoritism. According to him, this approach will enhance transparency, improve service delivery and eliminate perceptions of bias and nepotism.
The Head of Local Goverment Service called for the building of a disciplined, competent and ethical workforce that understands service delivery standards and respects administrative protocols. He underscored that public service is fundamentally about serving citizens.
Prof. Mensah urged RCCs and MMDAs to deliberately engage credible private sector partners to support infrastructure development, service delivery, innovation and resource mobilisation. He acknowledged that existing PPP frameworks are often too complex at the national level and indicated the need to simplify them for effective implementation at the local level.
He encouraged assemblies to go beyond merely collecting rates from informal sector operators, stressing the importance of capacity building for local businesses to ensure sustainability and consistent revenue generation.
He noted that true decentralisation can only be achieved when the assemblies are financially empowered to generate and manage resources efficiently, transparently and accountably. Strengthening local financial management systems, he said, is critical for sustainable development.
Prof. Lord Mensah expressed serious concern about indiscipline within the Service, particularly lateness, absenteeism and poor work ethics. He warned that staff who fail to adhere to official working hours, from 8:00am to 5:00pm, are effectively causing financial loss to the state and could face sanctions, including transfers.
He encouraged RCCs and MMDAs to support working parents by exploring the establishment of office crèches and childcare facilities to prevent parenthood from becoming a barrier to productivity.
Among new initiatives introduced under his leadership are the Anti-Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment Policy, as well as plans to roll out a Learning Management System to ensure continuous professional development. The system will require officers to complete a minimum of 40 hours of training annually, with future promotions linked to learning outcomes rather than automatic progression.
Chief Director at the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council(ERCC) Ebenezer Amoah said the unavailability of vehicles, poor internet connectivity, inadequate funding continue to affect the operations of the coordinating council.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
