With generalised civil service in place, it becomes difficult to assess technical aspects associated with public admin
KARACHI: This refers to your editorial titled “Political appointments” (December 27). Your editorial highlights a perennial cause of friction between the permanent civil service and temporary or permanent lateral entrants into official cadres. Instead of arguing for or against this policy or practice, a reappraisal is needed and requirements for running governmental machinery should be given priority. It should also be kept in mind that the reach of governmental activity has grown manifold after its acceptance as a public welfare entity rather than an instrument of collecting taxes to run its affairs aimed at keeping things quiet. With a generalised civil service in place, it becomes difficult to assess technical aspects associated with public administration; hence the efforts to bring in talent from outside governmental network.
In Pakistan, where written regulations are openly flaunted, the reluctance of the present government in appointing incumbents to high level public bodies speaks volumes about the evolutionary pressure exerted by societal forces aimed at rectifying the errant practices of the past. This evolutionary development will surely transform into a process of oversight your editorial so appropriately emphasises.
M Ali Siddiqi
Published in The Express Tribune, December 31st, 2013.
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