UNITED States President-elect Donald Trump promised to the American people during his election campaign to cut down the size of government by dismantling Washington’s bureaucracy and improving governance. I think this has resonated well with the majority of Americans who voted for Trump and helped him gain an overwhelming victory.

Trump fulfilled his promise soon after the announcement of the election results, and has announced his plan to create a new department, the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge). This new department will dismantle government bureaucracy, slash over-regulatory regime and excessive costs with the aim of imp-roving the country’s economy.

Unelected bureaucrats have become kind of legislatures and rulers in almost every country of the world, costing billions of dollars annually. Generally, they do not face termination or real accountability even if they do not perform well. I think Trump has taken a good initiative, and it will yield better results for the American people.

I also believe that the time has come to overhaul bureaucracy in Pakistan, too. The prime minister and his cabinet should take a cue from Trump and seriously consider creating Doge for cost-cutting.

I am sure this will reduce costs and improve efficiency of our bureaucracy. The improvement in federal government efficiency will result in better economic growth, and help improve public finances.

Ejaz Ahmad Magoon
Dubai, UAE

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2024