Civil servants are the most important component of the government machinery. It is not ministers or the top bureaucrats. Civil servants ensure the government machinery continues to function even in the absence of a government.

That is why it is so important for government workers to stay impartial and not be clouded by their political affiliations even in the face of national disasters and in this case, the power outage affecting Upolu.

The Ministry of Education and Culture reminded staff of the use of social media platforms to voice their frustration on matters of national interest. In particular, the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) reminded its staff about the Public Service Commission advisory on their conduct and serving the government of the day impartially.

The Chief Executive Officer for MEC Aeau Chris Hazelman noted the challenges faced due to severe weather conditions, political turmoil, power outages and disruption to water supply in a public statement.

Aeau said these challenges have opened doors for staff and the general public to publicly express their views on Facebook and other social media platforms.

When someone takes a job in the civil service, they sign a contract to abide by the public service code of conduct. It involves a social media policy and impartiality. Understandably, being a civil servant is hard under constant criticism and pressure. However, civil servants must stay neutral despite their political inclination.

Even private corporations have social media policies that accompany work contracts. They outline the expected norm when it comes to use of social media.

The power outages have taken a toll on every citizen of Upolu. Water cuts have followed and many people had important investments such as household appliances damaged. The PSC has a duty here to enact a social media policy that outlines the expected conduct of civil servants when it comes to social media presence. This could help many understand the dos and don’ts.

This is quite hard as the PSC wants to ensure that civil servants are always seen as neutral but does not stifle their freedom of expression. Like any citizen of this country, even civil servants have the Constitutional right to voice their grievances.

Apart from the power outages, the current state of the government is also something that impacts the civil servants. As government employees, they must serve everyone equally irrespective of political opinions.

Just as Archbishop Mosese Tui told the ruling party, to unite and fix the power problem, civil servants must stand united, and continue to do their work so the government machinery does not stop. The implications of a crippled public service are far greater than the power outages. A non-functioning government service will have economic and social implications for everyone in the nation.

The Public Service Code of Conduct states, “The employees should act apolitically and serve the Government with impartiality, regardless of which party is in power and which party they personally support.”

This implies the use of social media as well. Public servants serve the government of the day and successive governments, regardless of their political composition. This means public servants must always act in a way that maintains the confidence of the current government and ensures the same relationship can be established with future governments.

It is never acceptable for a public servant acting in an official capacity to express their personal political views in a way that raises questions about their ability to perform their role in a politically neutral way. Expressing such views impacts the confidence of the public in the political neutrality of the public service.

We are all too familiar with how public servants became politically inclined during and after the 2021 Constitutional crisis. This led to mayhem where the public service was in disarray. This should be a reminder of why public servants have to remain apolitical.

A public servant serves the public, irrelative of his political views. His or her actions need to be impartial, transparent and accountable.

The PSC has a grievance procedure and if civil servants feel that they have been grieved or are under undue pressure, surely, there is a mechanism within government departments to deal with them.

Stay safe Samoa.