IN an article contributed to a publication of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Dr Ishrat Husain has thrown considerable light on the objectives and scope of the civil services reform undertaken by the present government. All this information needs to be shared with the citizens of Pakistan, the long-suffering victims of questionable governance, who have higher stakes in the reform process than any other party.
The public has reason to feel gratified at the statement that the rationale for the reform process “should be viewed in the context of the present malaise and weaknesses in our government structure, long-term vision of Pakistan, the external environment in which Pakistan will be operating as a country, the lessons learnt from other successful developing countries, the diagnostic studies including public opinion polls about government performance in Pakistan and the growing expectations of the public at large”.
Civil service reform begins
The writer is a senior political economist based in Islamabad. He can be reached at [email protected]
Let’s face it. The crux of the matter of civil service reform is the incongruity between the centralised administrative services and federal state structure. Yet again, the inheritors of the ICS/CSP tradition, grouped now as DMG/PAS, have successfully resisted any diminution of their might. In this they have been supported by the political champions of a single national curriculum and the khaki builders of a unitary narrative. The recent official announcement laying down the contours of civil service reform has been rightly criticised for being cosmetic. The issue of political interference remains unaddressed. Improving or changing rules and procedures is the focus. These relate to appointment, performance evaluation, training, promotions and retirement. Inter-provincial transfer rules will now ensure regular movement around provinces, while provincia