Towards a new dynamism

The move by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to allow a free hand to State officials to make independent decisions in their service to the public is indeed commendable. For too long has the public service remained a sleeping giant inviting the wrath of the public. This is mostly due to the fact that State officials stuck to age-old rules and concepts left behind by our colonial masters. This playing by the book rather than serve the public to their satisfaction drove them to frustration and despair.

There was also a reluctance on the part of State officials at the helm in government departments to act on their own initiative. Most of the State officials who were largely political appointees feared to take bold decisions lest they come into conflict with the thinking of their political masters. As a result the public service became an effete and a dormant institution with the public receiving slipshod treatment.

It is in this context that the decision taken by the President assumes significance.

Addressing new recruits to the Administrative Service at Temple Trees on Wednesday President Rajapaksa said he would protect and defend them on all decisions taken for the public benefit. He said officials who take decisions in good faith and show dedication and commitment in their service to the public would always be protected and backed by the State.

What is more he told them that even if their decisions failed to elicit the desired result the State would still back them to the hilt so long as such decisions had been taken in good faith. This hopefully would lead to a revolutionary change in the country's bureaucracy which hitherto was playing a negative role.

This confidence building on the part of the President in the bureaucracy is timely given the need for spot decisions in the present context where development is being accelerated. Our bureaucracy over the years have come in for a lot of flak and justifiably so. Our administrative service has been notorious for its lethargy and foot dragging. This dilly-dallying on the part of our State officials has its genesis in the reluctance to take decisions that could displease the powers that be. As mentioned since these officials owe their positions in most instances to their political masters they fought shy from taking decisions that could invite the displeasure of their political bosses.

It is such a mindset that has been dominating the actions of our top administrators over the years. There had been little initiative or independent thinking on their part. Now with a free hand given to them by the President no less to take independent decisions with the cover of protection hopefully a degree of dynamism and drive would be injected into our bureaucratic machinery which had been in a slumber for too long.

This Presidential guarantee it is hoped would now motivate our State officials into action which was noted for its absence. Most of all the public will like to see them break out of the bureaucratic red tape which had been used as a convenient cover by our bureaucrats to delay action. As a result the general public were driven from pillar to post even for a minor task such as obtaining the copy of a title deed. Needless to say their wrath was unfairly directed at the Government due to this lethargy.

In the past most of our prospective investors too had to reconsider their options due to the tedious processes adopted by our bureaucracy. With big time investors now set to arrive in the country the need for speed cannot be overemphasized. We cannot afford to lose investors at this juncture merely because some form or document is not in order. The Presidential directive will now embolden our bureaucrats to adapt and improvise to keep the development process moving.

Anyway it is time for a complete overhaul of the country's moribund bureaucracy to suit modern day demands. Our bureaucracy is still coasting along a dull routine of the colonial era when things were tranquil and slow paced. This is the era of modern technology and the information revolution where speed is of the essence requiring snap decisions. Prolonging things today because some bureaucrats are bound to ARs and FRs can only put the country back in development and progress.

Above all there should be no room for political meddling in any decision making by State officials. They have now received a guarantee from no less a personage than the Head of State that they could act independently so long as their decision-making impacts to the public benefit.

This assurance we hope would spur them into new heights to do the right thing according to their conscience without being bound by any political pressure. Hopefully the President's move to allow free rein to the country's bureaucracy will hark back to the days when our public service was free of political interference and where the people were provided a satisfactory service.