Catch 22

Let your conscience be your guide, said Jiminy Cricket to Pinocchio. Wise words fell on deaf ears. Pinocchio chose the path more frequently travelled and encountered multiple adventures with lessons in morality and goodness. These included a stretched nose signifying untruthfulness. He also landed in the stomach of a giant whale searching for his foster father where both mulled over past mistakes. In childlike fantasy, the tale ends well with the puppet turning into a human being and possessing a real conscience.

Such is the case with bureaucrats who may find themselves in grave cavities (pun unintended) alongside foster daddies at some point in their career. These are exceptional circumstances. One such spectacular panorama is currently under way and some civil servants may finally face retribution. Perceptions vary regarding overstepping of boundaries and victimisation. On the whole it presents an interesting case study of institutional unconsciousness. Many are delighted at this display, especially those who maintained minimum contact with Jiminy despite feigning allegiance to their masters.

Conscience is a common trait. Most individuals possess it, albeit in varying degrees of dormancy and expression. In government the entire premise of its functioning is based on the welfare of citizens and responsibility of the state. Despite the assumption that laws and policies are founded on fundamental principles of public good, morality appears to have only an occasional role. For offices to function and officers to progress, conscience must be an early casualty.

It is believed that bureaucrats of olden days were not as inward looking as their present counterparts. Various examples are quoted however there is insufficient evidence to support this claim. Bureaucracy in its present shape and form is consistently serving the same interests as it did prior to independence. It is common for bureaucrats to ally themselves with one group or another and remain firmly anchored. Subsequent performance is then indebted to the master in a mutually beneficial pact. Rules are bent, and laws reinterpreted, or even overlooked to accommodate influential lobbies. Public good is missing in such arrangements.

Tales of dishonest collusion between parties and subsequent institutional damage are familiar. There may be a few vague hazards treading this path. In contrast there is distinct monetary advantage to surreptitious partnerships. Cursory reading of government audit reports can verify the phenomenal scale of financial mismanagement across federal and provincial establishments. Embezzlement and corruption appear to be the most common. And yet this style of governance continues to thrive and expand without many questions on its viability and purpose.

The bureaucracy holds its own and ensures continuity of the same failures. Ineffectiveness of these structures is clear and yet preservation of the same is a preferred option. Government is a lucrative source of income and offers permanent employment whereas bureaucrats are subservient allies. Colonial bureaucratic patterns of extortion and dominance remain impervious despite claims of popularly elected representation in parliament. There is clearly no joy in disengaging with a profitable arrangement for the sake of the ordinary folk.

Working in government does not require improvement in professional skills or specialisation in a particular field. It is believed that individual officers learn enough by experience. However, the general ineptitude in outcome does not support this contention. On the other hand accountability mechanisms are severely fractured and any skilled bureaucrat can effortlessly slip through without much reprisal other than a slight slur on honour and dignity. It is unlikely that civil servants will let go of such opportunities in lieu of hypothetical morality and more stern accountability.

Expecting civil service to reform is like entreating with an expired tin of sardines to dispose of itself. Changing the system requires radical changes in law. Changing law entails close examination of redundant positions and crumbling structures that no longer serve any purpose. Decreasing the size of government, sharing authority, standardising processes, ensuring transparency, and reducing discretionary power may eventually change the nature of governance. Independent offices will discourage corrupt practices although that may not be a natural consequence. Civil service reform is a meaningless exercise without reconstructing the entire format. The legislature and the civil service are unlikely to bring about any such changes which remedy existing partnerships.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11^th, 2017.

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