The Government-Citizenry interface

If the modern state can be thought of as a train, then the government would be its engine. The state goes where the engine goes. However, the engine is only important because there are coaches in the train. The coaches are filled with passengers. The passengers, in the case of the state, are its citizens. How the government interacts with the citizens should be of primary interest to all. Unfortunately, this important issue receives the least importance in this country. In a modern state, the state regulates, administers, advises, promotes, encourages, reprimands, punishes, sells, buys, and engages its citizens in a myriad number of ways - all, for bettering the lives of its citizens. The government is the mentor, the godfather, the guarantor, the protector, the provider, the adviser, the pacifier, the host, and the prime mover of a thousand other functions that the citizens must rely upon on a daily basis. In short, the state is indispensable for the normal execution of the daily lives of citizens. Thus, what the government does, or, does not do, is of life-impacting consequence to its citizens. This is not to say that the government is the only factor in the lives of the citizenry. Other important players are entrepreneurs, innovators and private citizens who work privately and publicly to improve lives for themselves and for all. But the role of the government is unique, in that it gives overall guidance, and sets rules of engagement for all citizens. Many of the functions of the state affect the citizens indirectly, but many functions affect the citizens directly. Functions which affect citizens indirectly are long term and macro-level policy making regarding fiscal policies, foreign policies, infrastructure development etc. Even these, in some ways affect the citizens directly at some time in the future. But there are some areas, where the state interacts with the citizens in an open and direct manner. These are the areas where the state must exercise direct jurisdiction, because private entities, either are untrustworthy or are incapable of providing these services which are of a special nature. Examples of these are the various departments eg. the tax and revenue collection departments, law enforcement departments, the national security apparatus, the national defence forces, the judicial courts, land revenue and registration offices, demography and statistical departments, post-offices and railways, telecommunication regulation, hospitals and schools, and a host of other government department and offices which must be handled singularly by the state. In the case of these special services rendered by the state to citizens directly, this is where the citizen meets the state virtually on a daily basis. This interface determines the state's relationship with its citizens. If this interface is easy and affable then the government - citizen relationship is good and if it is not, then the relationship is not good. In fact, the quality of life in a specific country may depend on it. In western and other countries this relationship is very good and in other underdeveloped countries it is not. Unfortunately, for Bangladesh, this relationship may not be termed as good. The citizens feel alienated from the government, and the government considers itself in an adversarial position to the citizens. The employees of the government do not feel the urge or the motivation to perform their duties. Each citizen, and each government, therefore, goes in its solitary path, in a continuous cyclic motion of mutual estrangement and disillusionment. Try entering the Bangladesh Secretariat building, if you need to conduct any business in any of the ministries there. You will have to know someone in those consecrated grounds in the position of Joint Secretary or higher, otherwise you will not be permitted entry. If there is no senior civil servant in your family you are in hard luck. Try meeting an official in the Rajuk building and you will not know where to begin or where to end. The window marked 'Information' is manned by a person who will give you a wry smile when you approach him and will casually point you to the elusive stairs upwards, if you ask him a question. Try the customs department for clearing your freight which has arrived at the port and you will have to go from table to table in a labyrinthine maze where officials and their agents will send you in a paper chase of bureaucratic sadism and extortion. Try getting adjudication in the land office regarding a land ownership issue and you cannot even locate the office having jurisdiction over the land let alone understanding the formalities of solving the problem. The list goes on and on forever, in almost every government department or office. There is no place to plead, no place to lodge a complaint, no one to give advice, no one to lend a helping hand. You are the criminal, you are the culprit, and you are to be blamed for having to ask anything from the government. Government departments and offices are run as small fiefdoms. Any person seeking any assistance from the fiefdom must first submit to its keepers. Thereafter, the price must be negotiated and only then shall the person be given relief. To persons with no experience in that particular office, agents must be consulted who will negotiate the price on behalf of the officials. In most cases, the lower level officials themselves are the agents who will guide the person through the abstruse ways of the department. And, if the person is not trusting of agents, woe may befall him, in that, he will not find head or tail to where he is. Such is the situation prevailing in government departments where the public have to interact with these officials on a daily basis. If you are one of the lucky ones who do get the service that you need, you will be confronted with another problem - the incompetence and lethargy of the officials. Paperwork will contain numerous errors, procedures shall be complex, accountability and the value of time, of no consequence. Grumbling about these problems will cost you more expense and attract insults. You will have to bear with the mistakes, and the inconsistencies that come with their sloppy work. Their sloppy work will cause you much trouble in the future when you have to go to these same officials with the same paperwork containing the errors, when he will quickly and unabashedly point out the mistakes, and charge you extra for it. What are the reasons for this sordid state of affairs? Traditional methods of improving accountability, installing efficiency and ensuring customer care do not work in the government departments. Neither does the time honoured practice of the carrot and the stick to regulate office administration. Annual Confidential Reports do not mean much because promotions depend largely on political affiliation and not on personal mastery or efficiency. Moreover, the higher salary that can be obtained from a higher position is insignificant compared to the benefits that can accrue from securing the right position through lobbying and other transactions. A grossly inadequate compensation package for government employees moves the onus of conscience onto the side of the employees who engage in open and perpetual rent seeking. No statistical or management information systems exist to evaluate the performance of individual employees. Training facilities and opportunities are largely inadequate. And so the laissez faire environment persists with impunity. The colonial legacy is probably partly to be blamed for the impasse. Government officials still think of themselves as the overlords of the people. Antiquated official procedures, laws and systems in most cases have not been altered even 65 years after the departure of the British. Service conditions and rules have not been formulated that recognise the needs of a citizenry of an independent progressive nation. Is there a remedy for improving this abysmal situation which has contributed to Bangladesh becoming one of the most underdeveloped and corrupt nations on earth? This writer would like to place some suggestions in this regard for scrutiny. Increase the emolument and benefits package of senior government officials commensurate with their obligations, duties and responsibilities. Rent money presently being paid by citizens, which is contributing to the accumulation of untaxed black money, may be channeled to deserving staff through enhancement of service charges. Open up offices of Administrative Ombudsmen in all government ministries and departments preferably from members of the civil society, or members of the judiciary or from elected representatives. Citizens should have the facility to register complaints through websites and in writing. The Ombudsmen shall have the authority to investigate and recommend administrative solutions to problems faced by the citizenry. Ombudsmen shall be obligated to answer to complaints from the citizenry regarding government departments. They shall also have the right to institute civil and criminal cases, if necessary. Transfer functions of the Anti-Corruption Commission to committees to be constituted from members of the civil society, or from members of the judiciary. Funding for the ACC should be ensured by the government through an act of parliament so the executive branch cannot influence its functions. If funds are not forthcoming from the national treasury, then, the Chambers of Commerce can create a fund to administer this most important of departments. Use technology to make the government-citizenry interface more interactive, as an example, by opening information websites, call centres, and complaint registration facilities. Getting cooperation from the government regarding issues that affect the lives of the citizenry is a fundamental human right in a modern state. This vital issue must be given due importance by the government and the elected representatives if the country is to move forward in the future. The writer can be reached at email: smquader22@yahoo.com