This colonial-style governance must come to an end
KARACHI: Let me seek your attention to colonial-style culture at government offices that keeps common people at bay. This style of governance suited the British to rule over the subcontinent. Unfortunately, there are certain groups that want to continue this legacy. A public servant by definition means officers that are supposed to serve the public but the way bureaucrats have established the Saabji culture reminds of the British Raj.
Top bureaucrats enjoy imperial powers and perks. They think it below their dignity to carry their files or bags. Chauffeurs, peons, cooks and clerks are appointed for them. They take the full benefit of their position without doing their jobs properly.
From the very first day of their joining, what whirls in their minds is not public service but cherishing the pleasure of a swivel chair, ringing the bell, gossiping on the phone while sipping hot tea and putting signatures on files. Perhaps they are oblivious of the fact that they are paid by the taxpayer’s money. Their mentality is no less than that of a feudal lord. They don’t analyse and evaluate things and find solutions to public problems because they bank on lower staff who compile data, record, documents and prepare reports for them.
Lower staff are at lower end of the ladder. They are supposed to sign in at dawn and leave the office at dusk with no benefits, perks and dignity. No one has ever written or spoken about their miseries. Top officers enjoy various allowances, trips, tours and medical facilities. But the low-profile staff dare not speak about their legal rights. How come the work of a peon or sanitary worker is unimportant than that of gazette officers? Ironically, most of the officers joining civil services have poor academic record, but after ascending to power they levitate in the stratosphere.
Service committees should be constituted and entrusted with tasks to develop Standard Operating Procedures that guarantee equality in service and privileges. This colonial-style governance must come to an end.
Ashfaq Ahmed Siyal
Published in The Express Tribune, January 16th, 2020.
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