Serving the Public Interest: An Analysis of The Ghanaian Public Official’s Experience.

Abstract

This study aims at analyzing the challenges of public officials in Ghana, who through stipulated guidelines, statutes, legislation and codes of conduct are required to serve the public interest. The extent to which public officials uphold the tenets of ethical behaviour including: provision of dedicated leadership, conditions for democracy; issues of protecting community legacy and creating the atmosphere for mutuality was examined. The Principal-Agent theory relating to public interest issues was deployed to develop a theoretical framework to explain the study. The design of the study was mainly exploratory. The mixed method approach was employed to collect data for both qualitative and quantitative analysis. The sampling techniques were purposive and convenience. Thus, the number, type of organisations and respondents were predetermined based on the unit of analysis, which was contingent on specific structural areas. Data analysis was partly descriptive through the use of charts, frequency tables and percentage responses. However, Chi-square tests were conducted to test some hypotheses. The study revealed largely, that the absence of appropriate conditions of service provides sufficient platform for the perpetuation of public sector corruption, conflict of interest and other unethical practices. The research reemphasized the challenges of bureaucracy and politicization in the public sector. Hence, reinforced the notion that public interest may be lacking without the active role of the judiciary in promoting and protecting public interest, and that public interest is more likely when there is dedicated leadership. It is thus recommended that the public official must not only be expected to serve the public interest but must also have his or her challenges met while performing his or her official duties.