SOMETHING odd happened last February when a sudden wave of western monsoon rains hit parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa causing human and property losses.

The provincial government, already battling critics on many fronts for its grossly inefficient rule, responded to the crisis by posting six young, newly recruited officers in the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).

The move was ostensibly aimed more at warding off further outcry and less with any intent to reach out to the people caught unawares by the raging waters. It was akin to procuring the services of labour to attend to some repair work caused by unforeseen events.

Something equally strange happened recently. At the end of a marathon meeting presided over by the KP chief minister with a bevy of officials from the departments concerned in attendance, it was announced that a new master plan for the uplift of Peshawar would be drafted within 10 days.

However, even before the expiry of the deadline almost all senior officials attending the eventful meeting were transferred in a major reshuffle in the province.

Given the happy-go-lucky nature of officialdom in Pakistan, the officers concerned must have felt relieved at being unburdened of the onerous responsibility. But who will account for all the precious man hours consumed in that meeting and how will the input and directives bandied about on that occasion be transferred to those taking over from their predecessors?

How would, for instance, the new officers be able to imbibe the spirit and seriousness of the moment with the diligence that was expected of those attending the meeting?

Questions like these are considered impertinent in Pakistan where the bureaucracy is given to ruling through fiat, dismissing criticism as poor understanding of the supposedly intricate system of governance.

Any objective analysis of Pakistan’s civil service would reveal that beyond the usual rhetoric, human resource management has received scant regard. In fact, there is more than just plain wheeling-dealing, nepotism and favouritism that have contributed to the degeneration of Pakistan’s civil service resulting in inefficient delivery of public goods.

There is something inherently flawed in our civil service in which every Tom, Dick and Harry is considered qualified and fit to serve in any position he aspires to, and the tragedy of it all is that those who have to redeem the system refuse to admit that it is rotting away.

The PDMA was established following the outbreak of a man-made calamity in the Malakand Division forcing mass evacuation from the affected areas. Before that a massive earthquake had hit the province in 2005 resulting in thousands of casualties. Subsequently, the 2010 floods decimated the infrastructure besides causing loss of life. The province is thus prone to both man-made and natural calamities.

The PDMA, launched with great promise to help the toiling masses in their hour of need, appears to have floundered solely due to the absence of expert and professional human resources. Ever since its inception the authorities are experimenting with the postings of different PDMA officers with no knowledge of the job.

How can young, inexperienced officers posted on an urgent basis cope with catastrophes of the type that KP has witnessed in the recent past? No one is willing to answer this million-dollar question as a crippling sense of complacency and apathy seems to have overpowered policymakers and policy executors alike.

The PDMA’s dilemma is common to all authorities in Pakistan. It is owing to the prevailing system in the country that the establishment of an authority, whenever and wherever one is required, is overseen by the government functionaries. Functionaries ensure that the service rules of the authority concerned are tailored in a manner where most of the executive positions are reserved to be filled through deputations from the preferred service groups.

The incidence of deputation alone has affected the delivery of intended services in any authority more than all other evils put together. Since work in the authorities is mostly time-lined, officers on deputation are ill-suited to carry out the same.

They are more often than not required to attend long training courses resulting in their actual job being performed on a makeshift basis with the element of responsibility missing. They continue to play dog in the manger, not allowing true professionals to take over the reins.

It is truly perplexing as to what is actually meant by reforms in various sectors — one hears the refrain ad nauseam especially with reference to negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

True reforms must start and conclude with the establishment of a regime of professionalism and an end to random postings and transfers of officers on whimsical grounds. Sadly, however, our policymakers ensure that this is not done.

Human resource management is all about appointing, training, grooming and retaining the right persons. This is exactly what has not been done with the result that the country suffers 18 hours of power cuts in the 21st century and is home to one of the most regressive systems of taxation in the world.

Also if we had managed our human resources prudently, doctors and engineers would not have been forced to become clerks in our secretariats after graduating in their respective fields.

The writer is a freelance contributor.

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