From Eric’s Diary: Positions are not possessions yet we possess them, why?

I got to know about the expression, ‘positions are not possessions’ from a friend of mine.

He made the statement when I sought to confirm news that a senior colleague of ours had ended his tour of duty as a public servant.

Therefore, to make it even truer, I hereby restate it as, ‘public service positions are not possessions.’ Why then is it that when people secure public service appointments, they fail to avert their minds to the fact that sooner or later, that post will cease to be theirs.

Before I proceed to hazard any guesses, it is worth mentioning that the phenomenon becomes more unfathomable when one considers the fact that in most cases, the incumbent has a hand in chasing away his or her predecessor.

Oh yes!

For such a person to suddenly forget that, “the same stick that was used in hitting Tachie, would be used to hit Baah” (Local Akan proverb), beats my imagination.

Possible reasons for the possession of public service positions

As a student of Public Administration, I am aware that there are 7 features of the Civil Service.

They are; Political Neutrality, Anonymity, Bureaucracy, Expertise, Meritocracy, Hierarchy and Permanency.

The Permanency feature of the Civil Service means that every civil servant enjoys the security of tenure.

Therefore, it appears that some people have misconstrued this feature as a license to stay in office indefinitely.

Consequently, when they assume office, they start decorating their offices with photos of themselves, wives and children.

As a result, friends and family also associate vehicles with their owners to the extent that some will never believe it when they see the vehicle somewhere, but are told that the owner is not around.

So, it came to pass that a public servant, who had a duty-post vehicle as a benefit that came with the position, wanted to use the vehicle while on six months’ leave prior to retirement.

What happened to bowing out when the applause is loud?

It’s time to go

There is no gainsaying the fact that (NADAA) has possessed the presidency.