DAVID J. Cord in his book The Decline and Fall of Nokia cites destructive internal competition and the failure to realise the importance of changing trends in the phone industry with the advent of smartphones as the primary causes of Nokia’s decline. According to the author, the problem with Nokia was not lack of innovation but the fixation of its middle management with status quo, thus hampering any attempts to bring innovations to the market.

The Punjab government has been criticised in the media for awarding the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract for the Bhikki Power Plant to a company that would be installing state-of-the-art 9HA.01 gas turbines manufactured by General Electric, the reputed US-based company.

The main criticism against using these turbines is that they are not operating anywhere else in the world yet, a view that is akin to refusing to buy a new car model from a well-established car manufacturer because one has not seen anyone else driving it yet, that too when it is obvious it would soon be on the roads. The world of technology does not always work on the ‘old is gold’ principle. The corporate world is different and technology-driven innovation is the prime factor in technological decision-making.

We must invest in human resource without any prejudice.

Investing in this new type of turbine with a rated efficiency of 61pc is a decision unlike most taken by our bureaucracy, for it is an innovative approach with an element of calculated risk-taking. As reported, the “9HA gas turbine models have been developed for the growing gas-fired power generation markets in 50Hz regions, including the UK, Europe, Africa, Australia, southern cone of South America, Middle East (except for Saudi Arabia), Turkey, India, China, half of Japan, and Russia”.

It is pertinent to mention that the same turbines will replace existing gas-fired boilers to almost double the production at the Kazan Power Plant, Russia. Hats off to the Punjab government for pleasantly surprising many like myself by making an informed choice — one must give the devil his due.

However, for sustainable progress our government must also invest in human resource without any discrimination. A cursory analysis of the appointments made by our government provides enough reason to conclude that bureaucrats manipulate decision-making for personal rather than institutional advantage.

For instance, both the power companies owned by the Punjab government, namely QATPL and QASPL, are being headed by bureaucrats from the District Management Group. Even if these gentlemen are suitable for their respective roles as CEOs of power-sector companies, is it really logical to hire a civil servant already working for government — at a much lower salary — for a government-owned private company at a much higher salary?

When a CEO from the private sector fails to deliver, his reputation is blemished and career prospects jeopardised but a civil servant doing the same job can conveniently return to government service without being truly penalised — as happened in the case of the Nandipur power project.

Muhammad Ali Nekokara, a police officer, after a brief inquiry into the allegation against him of disobeying orders during the PTI/PAT dharna episode, was dismissed from service only because he did not have the right kind of political connections. The recently transferred MD of the Nandipur power project, might not meet a similar fate in case he is found to be at fault because of some very reliable political masters.

In fact, he has reportedly objected to the composition of the inquiry committee that was formed to probe the allegations against him on the basis that since the project is in Punjab and three members of the inquiry committee hail from Sindh, it would influence their judgement. Such objections coming from the bureaucracy that is supposed to be a symbol of the federation are objectionable. The law should be the same for all and patronage similar to that provided to a few handpicked officers should be spread across all departments ranging from education to railways or, for that matter, Pakistan Post so that governance and service delivery improves as a whole.

This is not limited to a single province: the Sindh government recently issued a notification granting special allowance of Rs75,000, Rs150,000 and Rs200,000 to BPS-17, 19 and 20 officers of the provincial secretariat services, the Pakistan Administrative Service and Executive Provincial Civil Service working in the school executive service which again is discrimination against those educators who have given their lives to the field.

Lastly, projects like power plants, dams and educational institutions are no more than management projects for run-of-the-mill bureaucrats, whereas for those who have given their lives to the field they are works of art, a labour of love. Appropriate machines are of critical importance for such projects but so are appropriate personnel. The government must realise this — the sooner the better.

The writer is a former civil servant.

syedsaadatwrites@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2015

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