Warm… Warmer…. Cold!
Ramesh Ramanathan writes in his column “What’s wrong with babus”:
I have long been a champion of people within government—both bureaucrats and politicians—almost to a fault. My views have been shaped by years of deep engagement with “the system”, during which time I have learnt first-hand about the enormous constraints that they work under. I have come to the conclusion that the inability of government to deliver on most public good issues is driven substantially by institutional constraints and not individual competencies—if we were in the same place, I doubt that our record would be substantially different from theirs.Most people are exasperated by my soft views, given the visible examples of poor government functioning. They say: “How can you excuse these people for the poor quality of our roads or the terrible public schooling system? These are not rocket science challenges! There is no excuse for poor delivery. The problem is that these people don’t care.”
In other words, he is saying that institutions matter, but people vastly prefer a heroes and villains narrative. But then, he withdraws from the brink. His solution? The villains should start thinking like heroes:
If only our bureaucrats could open their minds, and think beyond the steel frame and antiquated silos of the past, they will be astonished to discover the wealth of ideas and energy that they can harness. As well as the goodwill and sympathy that they can garner. This would in turn modify their mindset about their work—rather than feeling like martyrs, toiling away in unappreciated isolation, they will begin to feel the burden of their work lifting. The crust of cynicism will erode, the original idealism with which they joined public service could return. The arrogance of denial will give way to the humility of partnerships. After all, concern for the country is not a fiefdom.
And one more thing: He explains that his early thoughts used to separate policy matters from implementation. The former would always be a political process and the latter a bureaucratic one. While he does not explain the status of these thoughts now, did (does) he really believe the two are clearly separable?
Filed under: Incentives, Political Auction | 1 Comment
When these questions arise, my take is that the people are equally responsible for the actions (or lack of it) by the government officials as the govt officials themselves. The people put the nethas in power, the govt officials are selected through an accepted process. Then on, the people just expect everything to happen automatically. They want India to become Great Briton overnight. Just imagine if, the french govt officials, who are believed to be one of the most efficient in public administration, replace all our public officials and politicos. Do you think it would be a great move? Do you think everything will become better? To run a govt, cooperation from citizens is as important as the official’s competence. Which Indian citizen doesnt want to break the law for his self interests? Which Indian citizen is not ready to make some “goodwill gestures” when he is caught for his wrong doings and accept punishment? Which Indian parent is not ready to pay caputation fees for joining their wards for medical or engg courses? Which Indian contractor is not ready to make “goodwill gestures” to the govt officials to have a contract in their favor?
Also do refer by article : ination on my blog: http://destinationinfinity.wordpress.com where I have eloborated one such situation. Please do give your comments.
Destination Infinity