The evolutionary national and international environment has significantly increased the complexity and importance of governance, which requires comprehensive civil service reforms.
Citizenship largely urban, educated, middle class, young and expert in technology, with a greater gender parity today, has a very different set of needs and aspirations than their counterparts 50 years ago.
Today, they expect a digital approach first for the provision of services, they wish to participate assets in the policy formulation process and can hold the government in real time through social networks.
On the other hand, the expansion of the private sector and the return of multiple responsibilities to the provinces have made policy formulation an exercise of multiple actors with a growing complexity.
The global environment is also more and more formed due to disruptive changes, including geopolitical changes, unprecedented technological advances, climate change, traditional and non -traditional security threats and economic clashes, which create greater uncertainty.
In an interconnected and globalized world, these trends affect all countries today as never before. The emergence of protectionism, the weakening of multilateralism and the withdrawal of liberal democracy in the West have further complicated the international environment.
The civil service system established during the British colonial era, last modified in 1973, remains very unable to navigate the uncertainty and complexity unleashed by these factors.
It is still an institution based on the possession, hierarchical and generalist focused on administrative stability and internal control. However, the needs of modern governance require an agile civil service, focused on citizens and oriented to results.
During the previous PML-N government (2013-18), the (then appointed) Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms of PML directed a national advisory exercise that includes more than 200 sessions. He dedicated himself to more than 5,000 citizens of all spheres of life to formulate concrete proposals for civil service reforms.
Two presentations were given to this to Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, and some recommendations were implemented. However, the induced political crisis in the name of Panamagate and the resulting political instability derail this key reform initiative.
The PTI government, despite its high promises and having borrowed the full plane of us, could only partially introduce some ideas, while an obsolete and archaic civil service system remained intact. The reform cell and the working group that they established could not make significant changes despite numerous meetings.
The current government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, assumed the mantle to introduce prudent and structural reforms of the civil service. For this purpose, the Prime Minister established a Civil Service Reform Committee under the author’s presidency.
Since then, the Committee has held 15 detailed meetings and has forwarded multiple stakeholders, including academics, corporate sector and government officials, to update, refine and finish the specific recommendations for reforms.
The Committee conducted an extensive study of civil service reforms in more than 15 countries. He also studied in detail the human resources practices of the Pakistan army, which maintains high levels of meritocracy in their ranks and identified lessons that can be learned.
According to these detailed studies, consultations, deliberations and previous experience, we strive to transition to the intelligent civil service framework in Pakistan with the following characteristics:
SPECIALIZED: The adage ‘adequate person for the right work’ is more necessary today than ever. Given the depth and amplitude of knowledge in key sector areas, greater complexity and uncertainty, and the need to understand the nuances of various policy imperatives, knowledge of domain and experience specialized in several sectors have become key requirements for government officers.
Most countries in the world have moved decisively in the direction of guaranteeing greater specialization among civil service cadres.
Therefore, we must adopt specialized recruitment through the CSS exam to ensure that candidates with relevant knowledge and experience of domain can align their professional aspirations with occupational groups related to civil service.
We must also institutionalize the lateral entry through a National Executive Service (NES) by opening a certain percentage of higher level positions in the degree 20 or greater than all the candidates of the private sector, the Academy and the Government, to inject high quality professional human resources through a competitive and transparent process. Many countries like New Zealand, Australia, USA and India have developed successful models for such a senior executive service.
Meritocratic and promotion leadership: Currently, the civil service has a rectangular organizational structure where almost all officers arrive at least 21, mainly on the basis of possession and seniority.
This should be changed to a pyramidal structure with performance -based promotions through a several level performance evaluation system, as well as a biannual feedback process.
Secondly, we must update the training provided to public officials establishing the National University of Public Administration (NUPA) to supervise improvements in the curriculum, pedagogy and the quality of the trainers, and integrate training with education and research.
The knowledge of the use of emerging technologies, such as AI and Big Data, as well as public-private associations and the development of emotional intelligence and empathy, should be included in the curriculum.
We must also make the selection process for the mid -race management course (MCMC), the Course of Senior Management (SMC) and the National Management Course (NMC) more competitive. Officers who cannot reach these courses and/or the NES or other 20th grade position should have a route to early honorable retirement.
The establishment division must be updated to a division of human resources and organizational development to administer human resources for the entire federal government. An objective, fair and consistent performance management system is essential for performance -based promotions and to discourage consistent suboptimal performance.
Responsible and oriented to the results: a key transformation necessary in the structure of the civil service is to change it of ‘focused on the’ a ‘ -oriented process’ process. Each ministry must articulate its vision, mission and values, establish clear objectives and, more importantly, sign an annual “performance agreement” with the Prime Minister.
This should translate into individual key performance indicators (KPI) for attached officers and departments. All must be responsible according to the agreed results and their potential impact on the provision of services in the relevant sectors.
An independent performance observatory must be established in the Cabinet division for the performance evaluation of third parties of all government ministries and organizations, which should inform the Government about the results.
Rooted in people: the legitimacy of a bureaucracy rests not only in its competence, but also in its ability to reflect the diversity of the society to which it serves.
Therefore, we must provide a level of level playing to the candidates of all sections of society and focus on evaluating critical thinking skills, analytical skills and the ability to build a persuasive and informed argument, not simply a linguistic skill in Shakespeare’s English.
In 2022, about 99% of the candidates failed the English trial exam, which seems to favor the form of the substance. It seems pertinent, therefore, combining the essay, precise and understanding in a single article, and providing an option for candidates to try this in Urdu or English.
This reorientation will ensure that the candidates of the elite schools in Middle English do not have an unfair advantage over their Urdu-Medio counterparts. In the long term, arrangements must be made to allow all subjects to be taken in Urdu. In addition, the fees without representing the underrepresented regions, minorities and women must be occupied through affirmative action.
Enabled by technology, innovative and transparent: the digital revolution has changed the governance paradigm and the use of technology to guarantee efficiency, transparency and data -based decision cuts in all the functions of civil service management.
First, a complete automation of the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) is required, including its recruitment system, to reduce the recruitment cycle from two to six months. Members of the private sector and civil society, including IT experts, must be included in the FPSC.
Second, performance management, from performance agreements to individual performance evaluation reports (PERS), must be digitized and processed through an online system. An online academy under the proposal should bring learning opportunities to the tip of the fingers of public officials. The performance review board must monitor the progress to achieve the results in the ministries.
Together with the implementation of these recommendations, business rules, as well as general financial rules and PPRA, must also be reviewed and updated thoroughly. A clear separation between the formulation of policies, regulatory functions and implementation must be guaranteed, together with the performance of performance and incorporation of corporate governance mechanisms for state companies and organizations for the provision of services binding on service standards.
About 50 recommendations, including those previously highlighted in areas such as recruitment, training, performance management, institutional restructuring and compensation, are part of a package of civil service reforms presented to Prime Minister, which is committed to the main transformative reforms to civil service and remains our best hope of bringing them to implementation. However, this will require a concerted effort and the support of all relevant interested parties.
There is no doubt that achieving objectives defined by the National Agenda, such as Uraan Pakistan and SIFC, as well as shape the destination that our nation deserves, depends critically on the reforms of the civil service described above.
The writer is the Federal Minister of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives. The Tweets/Public @betterpakistan
Discharge of responsibility: The views expressed in this piece are that of writer and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of PakGazette.TV.
Originally published in the news
