Bureaucracy's social media boasts: power or duty?

Civil servants have developed habit of showing off state-owned assets, making policy decisions via websites

ISLAMABAD:

Despite seventy-six years of independence, the country still seems captive to its colonial past, and a living example of this is our bureaucracy, which has done precious little to build an image of being subservient to the populace.

Rather than showcasing their capabilities through effective public service, the modern-day bureaucrat prefers to gloat about being the State through social media – which involves flaunting state-owned assets, like cars and residences, on popular websites like Instagram and X (formerly Twitter); and advertising the power they wield through short-form videos on TikTok or Instagram Reels. For instance, one newly inducted civil servant recently went viral for showing his first raid as an Assistant Commissioner on various social media platforms via a short-form video.

When asked about the modern-day bureaucracy's obsession with grandstanding, Syed Saadat, an engineer who resigned from the civil service back in 2013 after serving five years, said, "We have turned the Central Superior Services (CSS) exam into such a milestone that whoever passes it becomes full of themselves. Thus, when such individuals become bureaucrats, their aim is not to provide public service but rather to build personal clout." Saadat, also known for his writings vis-a-vis bureaucratic reforms, further said that our feudal mindset also exacerbates the problem.

"Society or parents keep telling CSS aspirants that real respect and power come from being a civil servant, and freshly inducted officers end up chasing those very things. Therefore, the focus then turns from public service, which is a philanthropic activity at best, to being a celebrity with a mass fan following of those who appreciate your clout-chasing activities."

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When asked about solutions to putting an end to the practice of flaunting power and state-owned assets on social media, Saadat suggested reforming the training given at the Civil Service Academy (CSA).

"Unfortunately, new officers are still being trained like they were back in 1971," he remarked.

However, a career civil servant who has been associated with the service for more than two decades and did not wish to be named disagrees with Saadat. "It is incorrect to say that the training program is the same as it was in 1971," he said. Nevertheless, he conceded that the current crop of bureaucrats showing off on social media to awe the public, despite there being rules against such behaviour, reflects poorly on the civil service.

"The only legitimate use of social media for bureaucrats is using it as a grievance redressal mechanism and disseminating information about the government's activities."

He further pointed out that the Government Servants (Conduct) Rules of 1964 expressly prohibited government servants from participating on any media platform except with the express permission of the government. "However, these rules are ignored because new officers think that showing a presence on social media means one is working."

Policy Decisions via Social Media

Flaunting power and state assets is only part of the problem. A significant number of civil servants now conduct polls on X or Instagram to ask the populace's opinion on public policy decisions and on what projects public monies should be spent. Usama Khawar, a lawyer based in Lahore, feels that not only is this increasingly popular practice undemocratic but also unconstitutional.

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"Civil servants are at best caretakers; they cannot undertake any projects that have long-term consequences, especially by relying on a social media poll or the 'like' button." Khawar further said that any functional democracy would take action against such bureaucrats for the abuse of power. "To exercise power only available to an elected house and not backed by the will of the people is not far off from how the bureaucracy operated in the colonial era."

Ahmad Iqbal, former mayor of the Narowal District, agrees. "The decisions that administrators or civil servants take after conducting polls on social media are often the exclusive domain of local governments," said Iqbal, further adding that this was part of the reason why bureaucrats were such a hurdle in the way of local bodies coming into power. "Local government representatives are answerable to the people and make responsible decisions.

However, the bureaucracy keeps silently backing campaigns that portray local body representatives as corrupt and inefficient, to retain their own power," opined Iqbal, who also heads a non-governmental organization (NGO) advocating for local government reform.

"To strengthen this hold on power, they give the illusion of being available and easily accessible by posting on social media and asking for everyone's opinion," he added. When asked if the bureaucracy was solely responsible for this predicament, he replied that the onus for curbing bureaucratic power and advocating for local governments lay on politicians.

"However, no one seems serious about such an initiative, and until someone is serious about it, we will be stuck with social media polls," predicted Iqbal.