Editorial
Sloth ministries
Recognise the real problem
A recent letter of the Prime Ministers' Office to the ministries conveying its displeasure at their languid attitude in respect of their tasks has drawn our attention. The letter has expressed the dissatisfaction of the prime minister at the slow pace of the work of the administration and inordinate delays in implementing the directives of the government. That has inevitably prevented services intended for the public to be delayed and has impeded solution to many urgent problems.
The PM has touched in an elaborate manner the way that the ministries should function and has gone so far as to suggest that legal action be taken against those that are not up to the mark. We commend the PM for recognising the malaise in the administration early on in the life of the government and articulating her mind in no uncertain terms. It must also be found out whether the absence of dynamism in the administration is due to lack of efficiency or is a deliberate act to impede the function of the government.
However, we are constrained to point out some basic reasons that the PM might have overlooked that might be a major cause for the sluggish way she thinks the ministries are moving.
We feel that much of the malaise has to do with the random transfers and postings that were initiated very soon after the grand alliance led by the AL assumed office and which has now taken a massive proportion. To put the matter in perspective, in the two months of it being in charge, the current government has transferred more than two hundred officers of various ranks, including 7 secretaries, 5 additional secretaries and thirty four joint secretaries reshuffled last week. Nearly fifty officers, including 10 secretaries have been made OSD.
We agree that certain changes in the top echelons of the administration may be necessary with the change of government, but such changes must not be without reasons. Regrettably, it appears that there is no coherent policy that is guiding the government action in this regard. And nobody is quite sure whether the process has come to and end or is likely to end soon. With so many officers on OSD, little wonder that the performance of the ministries is slothful. Such endless and irrational transfer of public servants saps their morale by creating a sense of insecurity in them.
In this regard one is also constrained to ask whether the ministers themselves are able to provide the leadership to their ministries. As far as we can make out, the ministers, whether out of deference to the PM or lack of confidence in themselves, take no decision without referring to her. We suggest that the PM should immediately call a halt to the large-scale transfers and at the same time help the ministers to inculcate self confidence in themselves.
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