Daily Times

Massive administrative changes have been approved for Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan Provinces, while similar changes are expected to be made in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The changes proposed by the caretaker federal and provincial governments were approved by the Election Commission. The objective of the decision is to ensure free, fair and transparent elections.

The move comes after some political parties raised objections that civil servants, particularly in Punjab, have been appointed by the outgoing government of PML-N and in their presence transparent polls would not be possible. Political observers have appreciated the decision as a significant contributor to transparent elections due on July 25, 2018. The alternate narrative is that there is an environment of mistrust based on inter-political party conflicts and a lack of understanding of the role of civil services personnel, as well as the role the army is supposed to play in facilitating the election process. Do people understand the basic issues bureaucracies face in a democracy? Can the bureaucrats be trusted and can they be completely neutral?

We are entirely agreed that technical responsibility is not sufficient to keep a civil service flourishing and zealous, and that political responsibility is needed to produce truly responsible policy in a popular government. All institutional safeguards designed to make public policy truly responsible represent estimations. That one reason is the intrusion of party politics, another is the tremendous difficulty which the public encounters in trying to grasp the broader implications of policy issues, such as foreign affairs, agriculture, industry, trade, employment, finance and the broader issues of economy and energy. The cost of doing business is important and significant in any public policy.

Responsible conduct of administrative functions is not so much enforced as it is elicited. Responsible conduct is never strictly enforceable, as even under the most tyrannical despot, administrative officials will escape effective control. The emphasis is shifting: instead of subservience to arbitrary will, we require responsiveness to commonly felt needs and wants. The evolution of democracy from a negative concept to a positive ideal for social service suggests such a transformation. As the range of government services expands, we are all becoming each other’s servants in the common goal for bringing about a positive change in our society.

Responsible conduct of administrative functions is not so much enforced as it is elicited. Responsible conduct is never strictly enforceable, as even under the most tyrannical despot, administrative officials will escape effective control

Another problem is the right of officials to talk about issues of general public policy, more particularly those on which they themselves possess exceptional information and understanding because of their official position. There was a time when officials were supposed never to speak their mind in public. But the democratic governments have gradually relaxed these restrictions.

An analysis reveals that the political responsibility of officials has never been so import ant as it is today. Moral responsibility is likely to operate in direct proportion to the strictness and efficiency of political responsibility, and to fall away into all sorts of perversions when the latter is weakly enforced. While professional standards, duty to the public, and pursuit of technological efficiency are factors in sound administrative operation, they are but ingredients, and require public and political control.

Contemporary devices to secure closer cooperation of officials with the public and the legislature are not substitutes for political control of public officials, through exertion of the sovereign authority of the public. Thus, political responsibility and moral responsibility are the major concerns of those who work for a healthy relationship between the officials and the public.

The task of understanding what is happening in the world today involves being aware of such basic issues as the retention or abolition of private property, the structure of classes, possible political and social movements, and of war and peace. For it is from such matters that one can learn to properly prepare for the future.

The writer is a former Director, National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA), Government of Pakistan, a political analyst, a public policy expert and an author. His book Post 9/11 Pakistan was published in the United States

Published in Daily Times, June 26^th 2018.