In Sindh, it’s a common complaint that incompetent and corrupt bureaucrats have been the stumbling block between people and solutions for their issues. It’s a correct mantra to some extent because the broken and unjust system of governance for years is the evidence of such consideration.
Pakistan People’s Party have been elected by the people of Sindh for a third consecutive time. Now that the party leadership wishes to deliver, its top leadership must keep in mind, that until competent and pro-people bureaucrats are not appointed in high-ranking positions, nothing can really be achieved. Obviously, when capable officers will be appointed in different departments, they will solve problems of public on pure merit and resultantly that will be the demise of incompetent officers, who take imprudent decisions politically.
Sindh government as well as the provincial government had the same opinion regarding the appointment of Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah as Chief Secretary of Sindh. It is a welcome move for both the governments because in past Chief Secretaries and IGs were selected on political wills not on the base of their performances but the appointment of A D Khuwaja as IG and Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah as Chief Secretary is the cordial stride of Sindh government because everyone knows that how much competent and sincere to serve the people, both these personalities are.
In Sindh, the ‘aam admi’ struggles a lot especially when it comes to visiting any government department for work because government servants sitting there, for serving that ‘aam admi’, from the peon to HoD, don’t consider themselves as the servants of people instead they have the opinion that they are government employee so they are superior and above all aam admis.
It’s a bitter truth that for any work in any government department, ‘aam admis’ have to approach their local political lords. Who will then call the concerned department head regarding the solution of problem of that ‘aam admi’. Only then does that work get done. But that ‘aam admi’ will always remain in the cage of pressure of that political lord who helped him to fulfill a righteous work.
It is famous for some districts of Sindh that the Mukhtiakars there, don’t issue departmental certificates or admissions to the ‘aam admi’ until they don’t receive a political phone call From the MNA or MPA. Almost every government department has the same story in those districts. It happens because the appointments of such corrupt and incompetent officers happen on purely political basis. Where they found more money or free hand for corruption, they get themselves appointed to that district, with the help of their political lords, and consequently start malpractices after being appointed.
Where and how an ‘aam admi complaint’ against such misdemeanours because it is the ‘aam admi’s’ mindset that right from bottom to top, they all have common interests, they all are on same page and they all have share of corruption that one officer does so it will be better to be quit.
The appointment of Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah as Chief Secretary of Sindh, is a welcome move because in the past Chief Secretaries and IGs were selected on political wills not on the basis of their performances
People of Sindh seem happy at the appointment of Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah as Chief Secretary Sindh not only because they have the perception that he will go the extra mile to serve them, but they have experienced his way of serving the people practically. When Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah was DCO Badin, he with his personal interest and efforts set up ‘Thalesmia Care Centre’ a distinctive health initiative to help children suffering from Thalesmia disease. As far as the poor children of the poor district will keep getting benefits from this centre, their parents will keep praying for Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah.
When he was DCO Badin, his office used to remain open for everyone because he used to say that “I am here to serve these downtrodden people so no one can keep me away from solving their issues”. He remained DCO in different districts including Badin, Umerkot, Mirpur Khas and Jamshoro. When he became secretary of different departments of Sindh, he personally helped the employees of those departments get promotions on pure merit.
When he was secretary for the Works and Services department, he promoted many engineers on pure merit who had been waiting for their turn for years. This is proof of his doctrinaire because typically getting promotions in such type of departments has not been a piece of cake of employees. Same way, when he became chairman of the anticorruption department for a short span of time, he brought massive revolution and reforms in the department. He opened years old records and began investigation of corruption against big fish which consequently, created pressure on government to remove him from the post.
Where Pakistan People Party (PPP) has given new dimension to the provincial health sector through projects like the NICVD, the appointment of Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah as the Chief Secretary Sindh shows that the party leadership is in the frame of mind to serve the people of Sindh. For good results in the future, PPP should give a free hand to newly appointed Chief Secretary so that he can execute genuinely and take necessary action against the impolite and corrupt elements within the government departments.
When any government employee from any district of Sindh, visits Sindh Secretariat for any appropriate official work and finds a cooperative and polite officer who helps him, he becomes the happiest person and starts thinking that still good people are there in this world. Normally, the situation in the Sindh Secretariat has been very much different from this. When a poor government employee visits the secretariat for any official work, the concerned officer first tells him the rate or price of that appropriate work, if the employee doesn’t have the money then the same officer asks him about the recommendation letter of any MPA or MNA and if he doesn’t have that too then his work cannot be done.
The dismal state of government departments throughout the province shows us how immorally our politicians deal with us. So it was the need of hour to appoint a competent and honest officer like Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah as Chief Secretary. Hopefully he will bring massive reforms in governance.
The writer is a regular Op-Ed writer of Sindhi newspaper Kawish and Affair Magazine. He writes about political issues of Sindh. He can be contacted at [email protected]
Published in Daily Times, October 7th 2018.