Corruption and perception

Saturday, 19 December 2020 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Government has announced that more than 600 employees serving at the Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) will be transferred on complaints they have taken bribes, which begs the question as to why they are not investigated and dismissed.

The decision had reportedly been taken after a discussion between President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Transport Minister Gamini Lokuge recently. Under the decision all employees who had reported to work before 1 January 2020, will be transferred to other Government institutions.

This is a disappointing stance taken by a government that promised discipline and campaigned on a platform of forging ahead on development, which included providing seamless services to the public. Transferring officials who have complaints of corruption and bribery against them only risks expanding the problem in other public institutions and gives a signal to other offenders that there will not be serious consequences to their actions.

The public service is often felt to have more perks than their private sector counterparts, especially as they have a non-contributory pension scheme, car permits and other advantages that the private sector does not.

It is also riddled with inefficiency, incompetence and corruption. Having been forced to deal with these issues for years with little or no solutions, the public tends to lump all public servants together and vent their frustrations on them. They also generally tend to be happy when they are held responsible by a higher authority as was seen when President Gotabaya Rajapaksa paid a surprise visit to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles (RMV) office at Werahera earlier this year.

The public sector, indeed the entire country, is governed by rules and these need to be implemented. But there is also a need to understand why the public sector has become as inefficient and corrupt as it has and provide solutions to the underlying issues.

The public sector has arguably been undermined for decades, largely by policies that were introduced by politicians themselves. The independence of the public sector was leeched away incrementally over many years, political appointees and overcrowding has diluted its efficiency and competence while scant resources along with prolonged political interference has made it extremely difficult to implement the long-needed reforms.

Over the years, the structure of due process and accountability that is considered to be the backbone of an efficient public service has been shattered. This is not something that can be fixed with occasional attention or top-down policies or sporadic transfers.

In fact the issues that have essentially taken a strangle hold on the public sector have been highlighted time and time again by respected public officials themselves who have drawn up policies and called for reforms. But they have received limited support from politicians and most reform efforts have been inconsistent.

Every country needs an efficient public service to thrive. Sri Lanka has a long history of competent, well-qualified and efficient public servants who have been held in high esteem around the world. With the right policies and political leadership, it is possible to put Sri Lanka’s public sector right again. This should be the focus of Sri Lanka’s leadership.