Letting go of the deadwood

Unfortunately, the prime minister's civil service reform agenda was one of the many policy initiatives that had to be pushed down the priority list because of all the death and devastation caused by the coronavirus. But now that the government has done all it can to stabilise the economy in the immediate term and also worked out a smart lockdown to keep people safe while slowly opening up industry, there is a rather urgent need to implement some of the more important reforms to whip the civil service back into the model of efficiency and professionalism it once was. It is in times of crisis just like the present, after all, that a good and disciplined civil service can make all the difference between optimal utilisation of the state's resources and a haphazard, misdirected official response. Also, it's no secret that the service is no longer anything like the colonial system it finds its roots in, the 'steel frame of the empire' which practically ran the entire subcontinent and demanded professionalism of the highest order. Over the years, sadly, the service was politicised for far too long and far too many inept and corrupt officers were pushed up the seniority list simply for facilitating politics and politicians to the point that it has all but lost its credibility. For the longest time civil servants have been seen as serving politicians, who hold the key to their postings and promotions, at the expense of the people; in direct violation of their mandate.

That is precisely why the PTI government's introduction of the Civil Servants (Directory Retirement from Service) Rules 2020, to get rid of 'incompetent' officers, strikes at the heart of the problems. These rules empower retirement boards and committees to prematurely retire officers with average PERs (Performance Evaluation Reports) or adverse remarks in three or more of their reports from three different officers, in addition to a number of other factors like evidence of corruption or entering a plea bargain or voluntary return with NAB or any other investigating agency. These are very crucial parts of the comprehensive civil service reform package put together by Prime Minister's Adviser for Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr Ishrat Husain. And it's no surprise that these recommendations have caused quite a stir in the bureaucracy at a time when dozens of civil servants have already approached the courts for being superseded in recent promotions. Yet any meaningful and long lasting change in the service can come only when it is thoroughly purged of delinquent and incompetent officers who have dragged it down all these years. It is essential for the government not to succumb to any pressure at this stage - you can count on some of the highest ranking representatives of the old guard to fight for their kind. Rather, it should make sure that the process of implementation of reforms is not in any danger whatsoever of losing any momentum.

Any set of reforms must always address the most basic concerns. In the case of the civil service, for example, there should be a fine balance between providing security of service and ensuring that dead wood is not allowed to stay on. Therefore, the reforms agenda proposes an arrangement like the one implemented in the military, where superseded officers retire from service after due time period prescribed for different ranks. Besides, since early retirements are going to be based directly on individual performances, there's very little that can or should be accepted as justification for keeping the old system. There's very little chance of personal favouritism under the proposed system, contrary to concerns of more than a few serving officers, since each case would be decided by a 15-member committee after thoroughly reviewing the entire service record of the individual. And all the officers knocking at the honourable courts' doors - wanting their promotions without working for them - ought to realise that they are much better off taking the golden handshakes being offered to them than dragging these matters through litigation and then getting less attractive send-off packages.

In Pakistan, regrettably, the working of the civil service has left a little something to be desired for quite a while. And now, quite simply, the time for its overhaul and reform has come. The government's efforts in this regard so far, especially Dr Ishrat Husain's good work, must be appreciated. But they will have to go all the way, and implement the entire agenda, before things can even begin to change.