ISLAMABAD: The best shot for the PML-N government to introduce Civil Services Reforms (CSRs) in the country is to hire an “international expert”.

At a lengthy meeting held here on Thursday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave approval for consulting some skilful hand from elsewhere in the world who could help the government improve working of civil servants in the country on a par with international standards. To further fine-tune the project of CSRs, the meeting presided over by the prime minister also decided to hold “a national workshop within one month”.

In press release issued after the meeting, the Prime Minister Office said: “A comprehensive project solution of a high performance civil service and performance contracting and management system in light of global best practices will be presented to the prime minister in four months.”

Talking to Dawn, former deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Dr Nadeemul Haq said that provided with political will the country was in possession of enough scholarship which could be used to achieve the desired results. “To me the decision to hire international expert means the government is not interested in reforms and instead wants to postpone it.”

One can count on fingers how the civil bureaucracy can be made effective. “Performance-based promotions and salaries, strict accountability, checks and balances within the ministries unlike the existing set-up where federal secretary is all powerful, and above all a complete de-politicisation of bureaucracy,” Dr Haq said.

In reply to a question, he said that during Shaukat Aziz’s time the government had spent $160 million on foreign training of bureaucrats; now what else the government wanted to achieve through an international consultant.

Former State Bank governor Dr Ishrat Hussain, during the time of Gen Pervez Musharraf, had produced a copious report titled National Commission on Government Reforms.

The main purpose of Dr Ishart’s effort was to improve delivery of basic services to ordinary citizens and functioning of various tiers of the government. The document must be lying somewhere in the Planning Commission.

Published in Dawn February 13th , 2015

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