(Previously published on Wednesday 9th September 2009)
Like it or not, for us Sri Lankans, this present moment of triumph is also our moment of truth. Let’s believe that it is a fortunate coincidence. The opportunities as well as the dangers and the uncertainties that our present situation embodies are unprecedented; yet in my view, they hold out great hope for a bright future for all of us.
Our prospects look roseate as never before. We’ve just put behind us a costly war, but no one would say that we are feeling the pinch after that experience; on the contrary, we find ourselves relieved a great deal, and contented to some degree for the first time in at least three decades (though the cynics among us made some scornful fun of the news about the high rating that Sri Lanka got in the recent study on consumer attitudes conducted by the advertising firm Grey Group Asia Pacific). The government’s development programmes across the island, including the rebuilding projects in the north and the east, are in progress. The village based economic strategy with adequate attention to the urban industrial sector, rightly pursued by the government, will deliver the benefits of development to the whole country. Foreign exchange reserves are growing. A healthy climate is emerging for investment. Those in the tourism industry have enough reason to expect that better times are in the offing. Overall, the economy is looking up. No wonder, the provincial council election results indicate popular endorsement of the policies of incumbent leadership.
Five of the major challenges before the government are: i) economic development of the whole country with special emphasis on the rebuilding of the terrorism-devastated north and east, and resettlement of the IDPs, ii) establishing good governance, iii) enhancing the law and order situation by eliminating crime, iv) reinforcing the communal harmony that was under severe strain for thirty years, and v) establishing an efficient, people- friendly public service which, at the present time, is performing well below the level of its true potential. These five equally formidable factors are interrelated; any improvement achieved in one will affect the rest.
To mend an unsatisfactory civil service machinery and to maximize its capacity will be a decisive undertaking in ensuring that the benefits accruing from the recent victory over terrorism reach the people. This essay aims to focus (from an ordinary citizen’s point of view) on the importance of launching a national drive for promoting the efficient management of the human factor involved in this service.
I don’t mean that nothing is being done in this direction already. In fact, this subject is receiving a great deal of attention from others like me and, more importantly, from those who are in a position to do something about it. I wish them well. My essay should be taken as an aside for whatever it is worth.
In my opinion, there are five major prerequisite conditions to be fulfilled before we could expect a significant enhancement of the quality of the civil service in our country: commitment to an api wenuwen api (Let’s dedicate ourselves for the welfare of us all) concept; understanding the value of whatever work we do; keeping clear of politics in the performance of our duties ( in other words, not allowing our personal political beliefs, preferences, and affiliations to obstruct the implementation of the development plans of the democratically elected government of the day) ; a just, people-friendly toning down of belligerent trade union activism among civil service personnel, and finally, a contented body of civil servants.
The overriding precondition is that civil servants be inspired by a shared sense of patriotism - a feeling of love and pride derived from the consciousness that whatever ethnic group or religion or political ideology or social rank or field of work we belong to, Sri Lanka is our mother land. Just as we have only one mother, we have only one ‘mother country’, which is a unique entity of incomparable value consisting of not only its geographical territory, its rare blend of natural beauty with its temperate climate, and its beautiful fauna and flora, but above all, its diverse people, second to none in the world, justifiably proud of their ancient historical heritages and cultures. If we happen to leave our shores, whatever appurtenances of sophistication we might deck ourselves with, we won’t be honoured with any other identity than as Sri Lankans. And that, we must humbly realize, is today not an insignificant identity. We should be proud to be Sri Lankan. All those of us who work, study, or play, from the street cleaner to the head of state, from the kindergarten child to the university professor, serve the country, because whatever we do will ultimately contribute to our common good. Since civil servants expressly serve the public the value of their work is, in terms of service performed in the name of the country, inestimable.
Civil servants must sincerely appreciate their role in nation building at this time when our country is at a crossroads. A great vista of opportunity has opened before us. Much development work is waiting to be done. Who will do it other than those in the public and private sectors? Who will, in effect, preside over, organize, coordinate, and guide all this development activity for the benefit of the nation? The public servants, of course. A sense of love for the country will inspire civil servants to maximize the quality of their service, and even to make personal sacrifices whenever necessary for that purpose.
All regimes since Independence tried to implement different development programmes with equal enthusiasm and achieved varying degrees of success, with a civil administrative system undergoing a steady metamorphosis in tune with the political changes that began to gradually expand the ordinary citizens’ involvement in the process of governing. The attempts at transforming an imperial (albeit mostly efficient) bureaucratic system inherited from the British at Independence into a more popular administrative service which would facilitate the active participation of the common people in democratic governance, especially since the birth of the republic in 1972, seem to have finally created (through human error, perhaps inevitable in a maturing democracy) a bloated monster of inefficiency which partakes of the worst features of both dispensations (for example, a propensity to bureaucratic red tape from the former, and a vulnerability to meddling by political nincompoops from the latter).
However, this should not be taken as an indiscriminate condemnation of the whole of our civil service. For example, there is no doubt that an understanding but silent public have nothing but admiration for the elections commissioner and his staff for carrying out the duties assigned them with an excellent sense of commitment, probity, and firmness, sometimes having to work under not very encouraging circumstances. There are thousands of other brave, honest civil servants like them in other departments too.
Politics (in the sense of people failing to properly fulfill their public responsibilities because of a selfish desire to indulge their petty political egos ) as a problem is connected with the next factor in my list: the responsibility on the part of public servants to limit their trade union activity as far as possible to negotiations in order not to hurt the masses with their strike weapon.
The purpose of a trade union is to secure and defend the rights of workers against oppressive employers. Trade unionism started at a time when a profit driven, extremely inhuman, exploitative capitalist system prevailed in the world. In such a working environment, fighting for worker rights was just, and unavoidable; but, on the other hand, maintaining a healthy level of productivity and profitability in any industry has always been considered a legitimate objective (because an industry must survive for workers to have jobs). This is no less important when the state is the employer. The sort of oppressive, exploitative attributes mentioned above cannot be applied to the state in its relation to those who serve it.
Unlike workers in other businesses or industries, public servants are least likely to have their rights violated. If there are such problems by any chance, they can be settled without much ado.
The public servants are, after all, employed by the people, of which they are themselves a part. When they resort to strike action, it becomes a kind of self-inflicted collective punishment on all of us. Nowhere is the truth of this more abjectly felt than when those employed in the education and health services go on strike. Strike action by such is likely to be criticized as more inhuman, and hence more reprehensible than any similar pressure tactic used by other workers because education and health sector workers hold hostage the two weakest, most vulnerable sections of any society, respectively children and patients including the old and the infirm. Therefore many believe that, in the event of a labour dispute between public servants and the government, it is the duty of both sides to do everything possible to settle the matter quickly through negotiations in the public interest.
None of these conditions could be adequately fulfilled without a reasonably contented workforce. To bring about such contentment among public servants requires the synergetic alliance between them and their employer, the government. In this connection the human needs of the workers must be met. A machine performs efficiently when it is well tuned, oiled, and maintained in good repair. But human beings need much more than the barest essentials necessary for their physical survival. In addition to a good pay, they need comfortable conditions of service, and a stress free, secure work environment. They should be encouraged to focus on their work with honesty and dedication, and their good performance must be appreciated and recognized in a tangible way such as promotions and material benefits. There should be provision for relaxation through social, cultural activities, and occasional excursions, etc. Above all, each individual should be enabled to achieve a sense of self-fulfillment in the performance of the work they do.
A more propitious time to achieve such a rejuvenation of our civil service has never come before than the present moment when politically, socially, and economically a new dawn is peeping over the horizon.
Rohana R. Wasala
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