Independence of the Civil Service

(1) Members of the Civil Service shall ensure that the exercise of participation in political activities does not compromise their independent exercise of their functions, powers and duties as impartial servants of the general public. (2) The National Assembly may prescribe a category of civil servants, who by reason of their seniority shall not be able to directly participate in political activities: Provided that— (a) the civil servants so restricted shall have the right to resign in order to participate directly in political activities; (b) nothing in this section shall be deemed to prejudice any civil servant having the absolute right to vote in accordance with this Constitution; (c) without prejudice to subsection (1) any civil servant whose functions are not directly concerned with the formulation and administration of the policies of the Government shall be exempt from restrictions under this section; and [13 of 2001] (d) nothing in this section shall prejudice the right of any civil servant to hold office in, or be a member of, any association, group or professional body, the purposes of which are principally to represent their member’s interests in relation to the terms and conditions of employment or the general carrying on of any profession or trade or the promotion of any interest, not pertaining directly to the promotion of a political party, or its campaign or philosophy. (3) No Government or political party shall cause any civil servant acting in that behalf to exercise functions, powers or duties for the purposes of promoting or undermining the interest or affairs of any political party or individual member of that party, nor shall any civil servant acting in that behalf promote or undermine any political party or member of that party, save as is consistent with the provisions in this section. (4) No government or political party shall cause any civil servant, acting in that behalf to deploy resources, whether they be financial, material or human resources, for the purposes of promoting or undermining any political party or member of a political party or interest group, nor shall any civil servant acting in that behalf cause such deployment, save as prescribed by this Constitution or an Act of Parliament consistent with the provisions of subsection (1). (5) Any civil servant who contravenes this section shall be subject to such disciplinary measures as the Civil Service Commission considers appropriate, taking into account the gravity and circumstances of the contravention, subject to such regulations as may be prescribed by an Act of Parliament. (6) Where the Civil Service Commission is satisfied that a government or political party or member of a political party has acted in contravention of subsection (3) or subsection (4), the Civil Service Commission may initiate proceedings before the High Court for punitive damages and, in the case of a contravention of subsection (4), the recovery of such resources or sums equivalent to the benefit of the enjoyment of those resources from the government or political party or member of a political party who has so benefitted, as the case may be. [13 of 2001]