OHLGS does not use ‘middle men’ in recruitment

Nana Ato Arthur, Head of Local Government Service Nana Ato Arthur, Head of Local Government Service

The Office of the Head of Local Government Service (OHLGS) has cautioned the job-seeking public against paying money to ‘middle men’ to secure jobs at the service.

According to the OHLGS, it does not engage the services of middlemen when recruiting into the service.

Head of the Service, Dr Nana Ato Arthur, engaging journalists in Accra on Thursday to take stock of 2021 and plan for 2022, said those who part with money to people who promise to secure them jobs at his outfit do so at their own risk.

“Money can’t secure your appointment at the Local Government Service,” he stated.

According to Dr Arthur, recruitment into the Service follows a laid down procedure in consultation with the Local Government Service Council.

“If someone tells you that bring money and let me get you a job in the Local Government Service, that person is lying to you. Nobody gives me money before I issue appointment letters.

“In the local government Service nobody pays anything before appointments are given,” Dr Arthur, a former Central Regional Minister stressed.

He reiterated the political neutrality of staff of the service in its pursuit of decentralized governance across the country.

The service, he said, had a cause to write to eight of its staff who contested and won as assembly members in the 2019 District Assembly Elections to resign as staff of the service if they want to be assembly members.

Four of those persons, Dr Arthur said, have resigned as staff and the other four, resigning as Assembly Members as they face service inquiry.

“As far as I remain the Head of this Service, the service will continue to remain politically neutral,” he assured.

The Local Government Service, Dr Arthur said has made a “modest stride” in 2021 with about 10,000 staff recruited in the areas of agriculture, human resource, procurement, engineering, physical planning among others.

On the outlook for 2022, he said the Service would deepen interservice collaboration for efficient service delivery across the country to support the central government.

He was appreciative of the media for the platform it had given the service to communicate its programmes and asked that it received some support in 2022.