ISLAMABAD: Vowing to depoliticise the bureaucracy, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday stressed the need for training of politicians to prevent undue “interference” in bureaucratic affairs.
“The government is committed to depoliticising the bureaucracy and insulating it from all kinds of political pressures,” he said while presiding over a meeting of the PM’s Task Force on Civil Service Reforms.
The prime minister was of the view that the bureaucracy had been politicised unprecedentedly over the past ten years, indirectly blaming the two previous governments of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). He said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government was committed to carrying out structural reforms in the bureaucratic set-up to make it efficient and responsive to the needs of time.
Stresses need for training of politicians to prevent undue ‘interference’ in bureaucratic affairs
Mr Khan lamented that the hurdles created in the way of bureaucrats had stopped them from fulfilling their official responsibilities. “Civil servants are pressurised without any reason and as a result they stop their work.”
The prime minister has been accusing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of harassing bureaucrats and creating hurdles in their way and working. It has been reported that due to a “scary” atmosphere created by the government itself and “harassment” by NAB, bureaucrats have stopped taking any initiative and are reluctant to sign official files to avoid being involved in any corruption cases in future.
Prime Minster Khan’s remarks that the government wants to protect bureaucracy from political interference are believed to be an attempt to restore the shattered confidence of civil servants. Filing of corruption references against the bureaucrats who were involved in the award of mega development contracts in infrastructure, power and agriculture sectors have scared the civil servants. Prime Minister Khan was of the view that there was a need to train even politicians so that they could not pressurise bureaucrats by any means. “The political class also needs to be trained to deal with changing times.”
The prime minister said the existing system of government could not compete with the private sector, where merit determined positions and seniority, adding that no system could sustain or deliver if accountability and merit were missing. He stressed the need for promoting professionalism in every sphere and restructuring and reforming the bureaucracy to make it progressive and innovative.
The prime minister reiterated his government’s commitment to protecting the integrity and security of the tenure of bureaucrats so that they could devote their energies towards translating the government’s political vision into reality. “Bureaucrats should discharge their professional duties without any fear,” he said.
The prime minister noted that although talent was abundant in the country, the existing system did not allow it to emerge. “There is a need to attract the best minds to serve the country,” he said, adding that the PTI government would ensure appointment of bureaucrats purely on merit.
“It is a common phenomenon in all developed countries that they appoint experts and skilled people on merit,” he added.
The prime minister assured civil servants that his government would avoid frequently removing them from their positions. “The government will protect tenures of bureaucrats to ensure continuation in delivery of their service,” he added.
Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2019
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