Bureaucracy in Pakistan represents a rule of mediocrity that protects the status quo. The colonial structure, inherited on independence, not only persists and perpetuates but has grown more tyrannical. Being change-resistant, over a period of time, it has become obsolete and inefficient.
All efforts to reform the so-called civil service - in reality it has nothing to do with any kind of service for the people - have miserably failed. The gora sahib - taking pride in becoming part of the ruling elite rather than a true civil servant - wants to "rule" and not "serve".
The monstrous government apparatus - comprising of numerous useless ministries, divisions and attached departments - sleazed with inefficacy and corruption is just an extraordinary burden on the national exchequer. Not only are they busy wasting public money, but are also adding to the miseries of millions by creating all kinds of distortions in the system.
One of the major causes behind the prevailing pathetic - rather crumbling - state of affairs in Pakistan is the malfunctioning of government machinery. It needs complete overhauling, right-sizing, and accountability. In the past, numerous committees and commissions were constituted to suggest ways and means - including rationalising pays and perquisites of government employees - to bring fundamental reforms in the civil services of Pakistan, but their recommendations merely remained on paper.
There has always been strong resistance from the bureaucracy for change - essentially it is a pro status quo institution. Changes and innovations threaten the rule of mediocrity and sycophancy - without these traits our bureaucrats cannot survive. In private gatherings, the "powerful officers" from the District Management Group (DMG) abuse and accuse "incompetent politicians" and look down upon their fellow brothers in other services - they call their Group "elitist" having continuity from the Indian Civil Service established by the colonial masters.
They always aspire to capture powerful posts in the centre and provinces. The prime target has always been the post of the Chairman of the most powerful arm of the government, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) - at present its Chairman and Member Administration are from the DMG. They do not know much about taxes and their administration.
They are not aware of the fact that this is an age of specialisation. Officers of Revenue Service perpetually engaged in mudslinging against each other, do not like their own man to be the head of the FBR. They happily serve under the DMG officer as Chairman FBR. Civil servants enjoying unfettered powers and numerous benefits and perquisites always complain about the "rude behaviour of politicians".
They also express unhappiness about the financial deal (meagre salary) given to them vis-à-vis the "large sums of money" spent on elected members of parliament. The substantial raise given to them in budget 2011-12 (see details at http://www.finance.gov.pk/circulars/revised_pay_scale_2011.pdf) when unprecedented cuts were imposed on educational institutions did not please them either - they called it "peanuts".
They do not tell taxpayers and the masses how they live beyond their means - their annual declarations of assets are "confidential". Their "friends" in media have never invoked the provisions of Right of Information Ordinance, 2001 to obtain the same and make them public. Even the "vibrant and effective" civil society members have never thought of launching a campaign forcing the Parliament to pass a law requiring public disclosure of assets and tax declarations by elected members, judges and civil servants.
There is little - or no - respect for parliament and parliamentarians in Pakistan. They are mainly responsible for the contempt and indignation people extend to them - their uncivilised behaviour on daily TV talk shows testifies to it. The civil servants are accountable to parliamentarians but before the Parliamentary Standing Committees, the members sound helpless while the bureaucrats openly defy their instructions. Privately, the elected members seek personal favours from the bureaucrats.
They literally beg them and request them to do things in violation of the rules and regulations. The bureaucrats, thus, rightly make fun of them even over a cup of tea in their offices. Then many bureaucrats and politicians are close friends and even relatives. They support each other. This unholy alliance of bureaucrats and politicians is the root-cause of our decline and lack of democratic culture in all spheres of life.
A senior officer of FBR the other day was complaining that taxes collected by them were squandered by the politicians. According to him, the total expense of salary, allowances, perquisite and benefits for an MNA is around Rs 35 million and for the entire House nearly Rs 150 billion per year. He was of the view that corrupt, incompetent and inefficient politicians, responsible for the present state of affairs in the country, do not deserve such perquisites and benefits.
The politicians on the other hand think that bureaucracy is the root cause of all ills. They claim that a secretary of government costs at least Rs 500,000 per month to the national exchequer with lots of other facilities and perquisites in kind. If the rent-free accommodation given to him in Islamabad alone is evaluated on a market basis, the benefit is not less than Rs 150,000 per month. In addition, he exercises unbridled powers and defies the orders of elected members of the parliament and sometimes even those of ministers.
It is a sad fact that expenses on monstrous establishments - federal and provincial - are rising astronomically. The following details may be an eye-opener for many - certainly painful for the honest taxpayers - now include the poorest of the poor paying 16% sales tax on almost everything - who are fleeced for the luxuries of the mighty government servants, politicians and the rich:
--- Out of the total consolidated current expenditure of Rs 3259 billion for fiscal year 2010-2011 of federal and provincial governments, the amount spent on salary, perquisites and benefits of government servants was enormous; Federal government spent Rs 280 billion, Punjab Rs 120 billion, Sindh Rs 86 billion, NWFP Rs 35 billion and Baluchistan Rs 25 billion.
--- 100 high ranking officers in the federal and provincial governments inhabit 12,644 kanals of land for their palatial residential buildings. Sitting in these palaces, these gora sahibs decide the fate of the hapless Pakistani people on the streets.
--- The majority of government functionaries in Pakistan live beyond their means, spending far more than what their salaries permit. There is no system of accountability and no law exists that allows the common citizen to obtain the declaration of assets and expenditure filed by a civil servant with competent authority. In many countries, the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Laws are in vogue. Way back in 1966, the province of Ontario, Canada promulgated 'Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, 1996' to make Ontario's public sector more open and accountable to taxpayers. The Act requires organisations that receive public funding from the Province of Ontario to disclose annually the names, positions, salaries and total taxable benefits of employees paid $100,000 or more in a calendar year.
The Act applies to organizations such as the Government of Ontario, Crown Agencies, Municipalities, Hospitals, Boards of Public Health, School Boards, Universities, Colleges, Hydro One, Ontario Power Generation, and other public sector employers who receive a significant level of funding from the provincial government.
There is an urgent need for Public Sector Salary Disclosure Laws at the federal and provincial levels in Pakistan as well as right-sizing of all governments - in fact closing down of all the unnecessary departments, divisions, sub-divisions and allied paraphernalia of government apparatus [see detailed list of such offices at www.government.gov.pk].
The list of government offices is long and astonishing. At Constitution Avenue, Islamabad, one can count 30-50 useless government establishments that do nothing but possess imposing buildings and huge staff. The same is true everywhere - in all parts of the country one finds government offices, overstaffed, wasting money and time and making the lives of the citizens difficult. This is in a nutshell the story of our civil service - the worst remnant of colonial legacy not ready to surrender its powers, perquisites and benefits.
Living in sprawling bungalows with an army of servants, the top bureaucrats are least pushed to know how the common man is living - even totally indifferent towards fellow low-paid employees. They make policies while sitting in their air-conditioned rooms for poverty alleviation! The tyrant FBR has made mandatory the e-filing of statements and returns for small business houses without realising the non-existence of the internet facility at remote places and even in cities for want of electricity supply!
Such measures indicate that the democratic form of governance is an alien concept in our peculiar milieu. The state is run and controlled by a civil-military bureaucracy that has evolved for the worst - much crueler than its colonial counterpart-since independence and the political elite is least concerned for the democratisation of governance.
Our bureaucratic structure is worse than many developing countries where decentralised governance has brought tremendous benefits for the people at the grass root level. In many Latin American countries, for example, government officials get their emoluments in cash, share accommodation with fellow citizens, use public transport with their children attending public schools. Our elitist system has made civil servants masters. On the one hand, low-paid government employees hardly can make both ends meet and on the other hand, their bosses live like kings!
Democratisation of governance is the solution if we have to progress. The first and foremost step should be doing away with the gigantic government machinery. Complete overhauling of the civil service is a prerequisite for democratic governance. The reforms should be all pervasive, but as a necessary step, all perquisites and benefits of government employees should be monetized. The State must withdraw all facilities like houses, cars, servants and telephones etc.
The perquisites in kind should be monetized. Let the government servants - especially the senior bureaucrats - live amongst the ordinary citizens of Pakistan and not in privileged enclaves like the GORs or assigned blocks in the capital. This will give them real insight for formulating pro-people policies. They will then comprehend the real problems of the ordinary folk. By living in separate colonies and bungalows they are alienated from the common people.
This culture has to be changed. The purpose is not only saving billions of rupees on the maintenance of colonial-styled large bungalows, but also utilisation of these lucrative and expensive properties for some productive purposes. There is no need to maintain huge transport pools and army of drivers. Civil servants must use public transport, and if it is worthy for them then why should the masses be condemned and compelled to use the same?
Government servants should take residences on rent, just as other citizens do after their entire pay structure is revised accordingly and fringe benefits/perquisites are monetized. They should get cars on lease or go to offices by public transport if they cannot afford lease rentals. This will be the starting point of positive change in society - the dawn of the democratisation of governance, making all the citizens at par with access to equal opportunities or equal sense of deprivation. Those who manage and perform State functions - civil servants - must be made part of the masses. Once this is done, the politicians will also have no excuse or justification to fund their luxurious living from the taxpayers' money.
(The writers, tax lawyers and authors of many books, are members of visiting faculty of Lahore University of Management Sciences.)