Public service and challenges to meritocratic recruitment of accounting cadre.

The contemporary public service client relationship has been characterized by a lot of complaints. The public service is blamed for being inefficient, ineffective and irresponsible in terms of delivering public services to the general public. These are aspects, which have got a negative implication over qualifications possessed by those employed in the public service in general and accounts departments in particular. While people (clients) have been complaining that employment provision, promotion, retention and retirement procedures are not based on the principle of merit, that is, educational qualifications, experience, acceptable character and ability to perform, the government, with its Public Service Reform Programme, claims to offer employment, promotion, retention and retirement on the basis of merit principle. The government's claim has motivated an initiation of this study which attempts at conducting a survey across the ministries in an attempt to find out the truth regarding the afore-raised claims. Study findings from both library research and field investigations confirm that there are malpractices in the public service with regard to employment provision, promotion, retention and retirement procedures. Unacceptable criteria such as nepotism, political affiliation, religion and bribery have more influence than the presumed merit principles of professionalism and official qualifications to determine recruitment, promotion and retention in the public service employment system.