It's time to streamline civil administration
Tuesday, 4 December 2007
A working group formed by the present interim administration soon after its coming to power to formulate administrative reform policies has reportedly completed its job and the head of the human resources management committee of the group submitted its report to the government recently. The basic objectives of the administrative policy changes would be to make the civil administration dynamic and efficient and help keep it out of any sort of political influence.
There is no alternative to an honest and competent civil administration if a government, political or otherwise, does really want to govern the country better. Successive governments in the past felt the need for an efficient and effective civil administration and some of them constituted a number of committees and commissions to recommend measures to this effect. These bodies did their job and submitted reports containing lots of recommendations. There were initial euphoria in the government circle but, subsequently, the reports were pushed under the rug. The notable among these committees and commissions was the Public Administration Reforms Commission formed during the tenure of the last Awami League government. The commission in its report dealt with the issues relevant to administrative reforms extensively and made important recommendations to improve efficiency, efficacy and accountability of the civil administration. But the Awami League government implemented one or two suggestions relating to minor issues and then sent the report to cold storage.
A few top civil servants voluntarily came forward with an intention of reforming the administration but later decided to withdraw, apparently, out of their career concerns and the fragility of their access to political decision-makers. The problems of the civil administration were compounded through its politicisation under the rule of the country's two major political parties, scarcity of administrative skills, highhandedness of the staff associations and poor adherence to rules of business. The extent of the rot in the country's civil administration came to light during the recent political turmoil when top level civil servants, allegedly, belonging to two rival political camps were found attending meeting clandestinely in Dhaka city.
Nobody would dispute the fact that a competent and well-motivated civil administration is central to achieving the country's development objectives and helping the poor at the grassroots. But to put such an administration in place, the first and foremost condition would be the strong will of a democratically elected government that is inclined to reward its 'own men' and punish others suspected to be 'loyal' to the rival political camp. Side by side pursuing the task of de-politicising the administration through rigorous adherence to the rules of business, the government needs to adopt the much-needed carrot and stick policy. These days, everybody is talking about the continuous decline in the quality of public servants. One of the major reasons behind the deterioration in the quality has been the inadequate pay and benefits given to the public servants. Talented people would obviously decide to take up better-paid jobs in the private sector unless and until the government offers them attractive compensation packages. This might also help reduce propensity among civil servants to indulge in financial irregularities.
The present interim administration has been trying to strengthen the Public Service Commission that is entrusted with the responsibility of recruiting competent civil servants. Such an effort, hopefully, would be better supplemented if the recommendations of the working group on administrative reforms, including abolition of the provision for sending government officials on compulsory retirement, constitution of an independent civil service authority, promotion through competitive examinations etc., are implemented with right earnestness. The nation's hope for an independent judiciary and a strong anti-corruption commission has been largely fulfilled but its desire for having in place an effective parliament and an efficient and dynamic civil administration is yet to be fulfilled. The present non-political interim administration and the major political parties do need to work jointly to get that desire fulfilled.
There is no alternative to an honest and competent civil administration if a government, political or otherwise, does really want to govern the country better. Successive governments in the past felt the need for an efficient and effective civil administration and some of them constituted a number of committees and commissions to recommend measures to this effect. These bodies did their job and submitted reports containing lots of recommendations. There were initial euphoria in the government circle but, subsequently, the reports were pushed under the rug. The notable among these committees and commissions was the Public Administration Reforms Commission formed during the tenure of the last Awami League government. The commission in its report dealt with the issues relevant to administrative reforms extensively and made important recommendations to improve efficiency, efficacy and accountability of the civil administration. But the Awami League government implemented one or two suggestions relating to minor issues and then sent the report to cold storage.
A few top civil servants voluntarily came forward with an intention of reforming the administration but later decided to withdraw, apparently, out of their career concerns and the fragility of their access to political decision-makers. The problems of the civil administration were compounded through its politicisation under the rule of the country's two major political parties, scarcity of administrative skills, highhandedness of the staff associations and poor adherence to rules of business. The extent of the rot in the country's civil administration came to light during the recent political turmoil when top level civil servants, allegedly, belonging to two rival political camps were found attending meeting clandestinely in Dhaka city.
Nobody would dispute the fact that a competent and well-motivated civil administration is central to achieving the country's development objectives and helping the poor at the grassroots. But to put such an administration in place, the first and foremost condition would be the strong will of a democratically elected government that is inclined to reward its 'own men' and punish others suspected to be 'loyal' to the rival political camp. Side by side pursuing the task of de-politicising the administration through rigorous adherence to the rules of business, the government needs to adopt the much-needed carrot and stick policy. These days, everybody is talking about the continuous decline in the quality of public servants. One of the major reasons behind the deterioration in the quality has been the inadequate pay and benefits given to the public servants. Talented people would obviously decide to take up better-paid jobs in the private sector unless and until the government offers them attractive compensation packages. This might also help reduce propensity among civil servants to indulge in financial irregularities.
The present interim administration has been trying to strengthen the Public Service Commission that is entrusted with the responsibility of recruiting competent civil servants. Such an effort, hopefully, would be better supplemented if the recommendations of the working group on administrative reforms, including abolition of the provision for sending government officials on compulsory retirement, constitution of an independent civil service authority, promotion through competitive examinations etc., are implemented with right earnestness. The nation's hope for an independent judiciary and a strong anti-corruption commission has been largely fulfilled but its desire for having in place an effective parliament and an efficient and dynamic civil administration is yet to be fulfilled. The present non-political interim administration and the major political parties do need to work jointly to get that desire fulfilled.