Framework for Economic Growth, Pakistan - Planning Commission

International conference on “Framework for Economic Growth, Pakistan”change the legacy, texture, and complexionof the Civil Service?I don’t think that after these very cogentreasons about the crisis of governanceanybody in this room would disagree withmy hypothesis that economic growth can'ttake place unless these policies aretranslated into the benefit of the longermajority of the population and is free ofcorrosion and fully functional. This can becompared to a water system whereby wateris gushing out of the tap but if the pipethrough which water is conveyed iscorroded, leaking or clogged then thoseexpecting water at the other end of the pipewould either only get a trickle or water ofunhygienic quality that is not usable fordrinking, cooking, bathing and other uses ofhuman consumption. This pipe is theinstitutions of governance which needs to befixed. Economic growth can't yield resultsunless it is backed by good governance. Inmy point of view main pillar of the goodgovernance is Civil Servants. Empiricalevidence across countries has nowconfirmed that economic performance notonly in terms of aggregate growth but alsothe distribution of income is determined bythe quality of institutions. These institutions,in turn, are manned by the Civil Servants.We have a history that clearly tells us thatfor the first two and half decades the countryhad Civil Servants who had the capacity andcompetency to take decisions in the largerpublic interest. They also enjoyed courageof conviction whereby they resistedextraneous pressures and influences whichcould disable them from taking the rightdecisions. Being wedded to the ColonialCivil Service their mindset and attitudebetrayed the tendency of guardianship andpaternalism. They were not responsive to theneeds of the population and lacked thecompassion to come to rescue the poor,marginalized and less well-to-do segmentsof the society. What is being proposed hereis that the first three attributes (3 Cs) ofCivil Servants – Capacity, Competency andCourage – have to be revived in themthrough these reforms while the compassionhas to be imbibed through greater exposure,awareness and incentives. The end result ofthe reform should therefore be a majority, ifnot all, Civil Servants displaying andpracticing these attributes. There is need torestore ‘3Cs’ in Civil Servants of the future.I was heading National Commission forGovernment Reform (NCGR) consisting ofboth senior serving Public Servants andindividuals from the private sector who haveexcelled in their professions. We spent twoyears and submitted a comprehensive reportto the Government of Pakistan in May, 2008with very detailed and specificrecommendations for the Civil ServicesReforms. The gist of these recommendationsis given below:1) Open, transparent merit-basedrecruitment to all levels and gradesof public services while protectingregional representation as laid downin the constitution.2) Performance evaluation to be basedon measurable objectives, andassessment of key performanceindicators.3) Promotions and career progression tobe based upon a combination of pastperformance and assessment ofpotential with mandatory training atpost-induction, mid-career and seniormanagement levels.4) Equality of opportunity for careeradvancement to all employeeswithout preferences or reservationsfor any particular class. A shiftshould take place in the mind setfrom “Entitlement” to “Eligibility”.5) Replacement of the concept ofSuperior Services by equality amongall cadres and non-cadres of publicservants, federal and provincial CivilServices, professionals andgeneralists. Suitability for the job25