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A common complaint heard nowadays is that the Public Service is lethargic,inefficient and corrupt to boot. If this be true,it may be necessary to probe a little deeper and see why such a pivotal instrument of the Government charged with the delivery of goods and services to the general citizenry of this country, should have been permitted to decline and degenerate in the manner alleged.

In this respect, retired senior public servants like us are in a vantage position to have an overview of the larger picture by seeing it in the double light of how things functioned in our own time and how they function now.

Root causes of the decline in efficiency and competence levels.

Up until 1972, it could be said that the public servants acquitted themselves reasonably well in the discharge of the duties expected of them.Although the island’s public service was no exemplary paradigm to be held up for emulation,it could be confidently asserted that public servants were overall, much more conscious than now of the standards of efficiency and proprietary conduct they were expected to maintain.They were perhaps better equipped to do so than at present as they were better trained by specialist management trainers who while imparting to their young charges a good induction training,also instilled in them a keen sense of duty towards the public on the basis of strictly binding ‘legal diktats’(the FRR and the ARR were viewed in this light at the time), combined with a deep sense of moral duty

As pointed out by me in certain related articles published from time to time in the local newspapers and journals,the present day public servants could hardly be faulted for the absence in many of them, the qualities referred to above.They are more the victims than the creators of the parlous state of affairs that is legion in the public service today.

One has to be mindful of the fact that they have to grapple oftentimes, with virtually insurmountable obstacles which though surfacing even during our own time in the service,were successfully kept at bay by the organised culture of a strong and committed public service helped along by the social values and the standards of behaviour of politicians, obtaining at the time. Further, there was a dichotomy widely acknowledged,between the politicians who were regarded as the policy makers and the public servants who were entrusted with the task of implementing approved policy programmes. This clear though invisible barrier, did not usually permit any unwarranted interference by politicians in the work of public servants.

Furthermore, the population of the island being relatively much less than it is now,the tasks assigned to public servants though burdensome, were less varied and of much less complexity than the innumerable problems fraught with imponderable political nuances the present day public servant has to constantly grapple with.This coupled with the major problem of some Ministers being pathetically ill-equipped, both intellectually and emotionally, to intelligently deal with the pressing problems of their Ministries, has cast tremendous burdens on the present day Secretaries and the Heads of Departments of such Ministries. Sadly,to further compound the problem, Secretaries to Ministries are often averse to or at times lack the competence and the ability, to do a behind the scene operation of managing the Ministries,as done in earlier times,under like sorry circumstances!

1956 –A veritable watershed

1956 indeed denoted a major watershed in the annals of the history of this island.The sweeping changes that followed in the political, economic ,social and cultural history of this country could in hindsight, be viewed perhaps as something that was waiting to happen,a radical departure that was just "writing on the wall". A sudden self –awareness was created in the mind of the common man, of the power that inhered in him to change his political masters at the elections that came round periodically.

This resulted in an unprecedented popular upsurge in expectations and new aspirations among the ordinary masses. The new political rulers who were overwhelmingly enthroned to govern the country in this eventful year, soon faced an ever rising tide of importunate popular expectations which had to be met expeditiously as their political careers and even their very lives seemed to hinge on their fulfilment. SWRD, the cultured humanist and idealist was the principal architect of the new political and social order and was himself the tragic victim of the pent up social forces that he helped to release.

The incipient beginnings of political interference

The new breed of politicians, drawn from different levels of society, having received a foretaste of the perks of office and the power and influence enjoyed by members of Parliament, were quick to make their presence felt by interfering with the work of public servants.Such interference though marginally felt at the start, increased gradually over the years gathering momentum with the promulgation of the Constitution of 1972.

This Constitution sounded the death knell of the independence of the public service with the vesting of wide Constitutional powers in the Cabinet of Ministers in relation to the appointment ,promotion,transfer and disciplinary control of public servants. The legalisation of political dominance made the public servant a veritable handmaiden of the politician. Such political hegemony over the public service led inevitably to the nurturing and protection of official corruption and often to collusion between dishonest politicians and corrupt officials.

1977- a further point of departure

1977 marked a different kind of watershed with the promulgation of a new Constitution vesting supreme power in an Executive President.The opening of the economy brought in its train a new political sub-culture imbued with the worst forms of runaway venality. These transformations had their own unsavoury impacts on the value systems and the work ethics of public servants.

It may not be fair to castigate the present day public servants for the steep decline in efficiency and competence levels which have made the public service synonymous with lethargy,indifference and rudeness. It must not be forgotten that the core problem the present day public servants had to contend stemmed from a fatally flawed system of education which was desultorily tinkered with by successive political dispensations for political expediency.

Successive political dispensations have to carry the blame for refusing to pragmatism so crucial in the formulation of policies at a national level.This political myopia led to the pitiful impasse the ‘beneficiaries’ of the educational system found themselves in. Their learning horizons were circumscribed by their crippling inability to have access to available knowledge on the latest advances in science and technology etc. with the valuable books containing such knowledge gathering dust in libraries.Further, public servants became painfully conscious of their total dependence on political patronage for career advancement and indeed, for their continued survival in the positions they held.The working relationship between the politician and the public servant came to be increasingly characterized by one of overweening dominance on the part of the former and abject servility on the part of the latter.Is it therefore, a matter of any surprise that all these basic inadequacies and paralyzing drawbacks should find reflection in the inefficiency,incompetence and corruption in the public service?

Corrective measures recommended.

Things can still be turned around if the authorities can muster the required resolve and the political will to do so. I shall list out in the briefest form the remedial measures that are recommended to be adopted and resolutely pursued by policy makers if they are really anxious(now,are they really?), to change things for the better in the public service,in the larger national interest.

1. A revamped ,comprehensive induction training for all public servants based on the erstwhile O&M training module.The current induction training programmes for new recruits into the public service are not properly structured and are lacking in the type of foundational training required for recruits to successfully face challenges in the volatile social and political environment they have to work in. In the case of the higher level recruits into the Administrative Service,the induction training should cover a period of at least one and a half years which should include intensive training in language and communication skills ( a period of six months to be devoted to this critical area).These are after all, intelligent young people and the acquisition of language proficiency and management skills should pose no problem to them.In fact, Sri Lankan students who proceed to countries like Russia,China and Japan successfully acquire the required language competency in six months to pursue undergraduate courses in those foreign languages. I recall a former IGP, who as a young ASP pursued post graduate studies quite successfully in Japan, in the Japanese language after going through what is called ‘total immersion’for six months ,in a ‘language laboratory’there. What I want to stress here is that these are not insuperable hurdles if one is properly motivated to overcome them.The new recruits should further be posted to key departments to enable them to familiarize themselves with the inner workings of these departments. As in countries like Malaysia,a stint of military training should be made mandatory, to toughen them mentally and physically.Promising public servants should be hand picked and sent to foreign Universities and Administrative Training Institutes regularly as such exposure would enable them to be updated in modern management techniques and practices.It should also be underscored that these expenditures on training the Government incurs could be recouped many times over in the form of a better trained, efficient and competent public service equipped admirably to serve the people.

2. A Public Service Act should be enacted incorporating the following objectives:-
   1. Establishing a public service that is efficient,apolitical,incorrupt,impartial and effective in the discharge of it’s public duties.

   2. Providing a legal framework for the effective and fair employment and management of the Service.

   3. Laying down an ethical code ensuring courtesy and transparency in their dealings with the public.

   4. Incorporating the ARR and FRR in the Act to legalise the stipulations therein and ensure that public servants act with a high sense of responsibility and accountability without treating these regulations as loose guidelines to be circumvented as and when necessary.

   5. Ensuring merit as the fundamental prerequisite in recruitment ,promotion and placement.

   6. Providing for and facilitating leadership development and professionalism.

   7. Improving and upgrading efficiency levels through modern technology and e’governance.

   8. Ensuring the constant upgrading of management skills through in- service training and refresher courses.

   9. Defining the powers and functions of Secretaries to Ministries,Heads of Departments and Heads of State Agencies.

   10. Defining the relationship between public servants and political authorities.

The implementation of the 17th Amendment.

It would also be vitally necessary to implement without further delay, the 17th Amendment which is already an integral part of the Constitution. All appointments to the respective bodies should be made strictly in accordance with the legal provisions laid down in the said Amendment.This will undoubtedly go a long way to ensure the independence of Institutions covered by the Amendment and would in turn lead to an immediate improvement in the law and order situation of the country.It would also be necessary take away the power retained by the Cabinet of Ministers to control Heads of Government Departments and vest such power in an independent Public Service Commission.

The need to depersonalize work by computerization.

It has been observed that depersonalization of work in Departments to the maximum extent possible by computerization, would cut down delays markedly and minimize corruption.This has been demonstrated by two Departments which computerized their work recently viz. Immigration and Emigration Department and the Department of Motor Traffic where such computerization has resulted in the remarkably expeditious disposal of applications received. Computerisation also reduces person to person contact thereby minimizing opportunities for employees to engage in corrupt practices.

Conclusion.

If the above recommendations are duly implemented by the Government, there is little doubt that before very long the general public would benefit immensely by having an efficient, incorrupt and motivated Public Service dutifully serving them.

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Autor(en)/Author(s): Chandra Wickramasinghe

Quelle/Source: The Island, 20.08.2008