Unless we have a system of check and balance, this institution cannot be reformed.

April 4, 2011 April 2011, Exclusive Interview Leave a comment

Mr. Khalid Sultan joined Pakistan civil services in 1980. He was an army officer and still believes that of any institution of this country Army takes the cake in structural and procedural discipline.

He came to the civil services from the 10 per cent quota reserved for the army. He has no qualms about his appointments though many around him have been critical of army men joining civil services. However, giving priority or seniority to an army incumbent over a civilian is the only reservation that pinches him. He believes that people joining bureaucracy through regular procedure deserves to be treated senior above all others.

Mr. Khalid is serving as Director General Civil Services Academy, how well is the academy fairing under his supervision and where does he think the public administration is heading are part of the interview Jahangir’s World Times had with Mr. Khalid. we have tagged his key thoughts as the lead to his deliberations.

Civil service Academy is a place where students from all over the country come together to join in a collective effort to become an effective member of public administration. We are doing our best to make them part of the ordinary masses; somebody who would be accessible and reachable.

Talking about training procedures at the Civil Service Academy Mr. Khalid’s views are diverse and succinct. He believes that a probationer can be easily trained in six months. The present batch is enrolled for the same period and the results would prove the conviction of Mr. Khalid regarding the duration of the course.  Since 2007 all federal training institutions have come under the ambit of National School of Public Policy (NSPP). Since NSPP follows the guideline given by the HSE therefore, it reserves the right to give degree to the trainees. The governing body of NSPP is thinking awarding the probationers degree on the completion of their total training period, covering both common and specialised training. Mr. Khalid has a different point of view in this regard. He personally believes that this particular course should not be driven by any degree but by the will to learn the ropes so as to guard the interest of the public at large.

The objectives of common training programmes is to promote harmony amongst probationers.
 
Mr. Khalid is proud to state that he has bought some rudimentary changes in the overall working of the CSA training. Punctuality and dress code are strictly observed. Class room study is no more monologues, presentations and case studies have given new life to the training. Co-circulars activities form the basis of the overall course structure.Besides laying down some disciplinary rules I have also eliminated the provision of reappearing in competitive exam during training. As a penalty we reserve the right to expel the candidate from the course. Only recently two candidates cheated on us and reappeared in the CSS exam, they are caught and are on trial.

The objectives of common training programmes are simple yet effective; the essential one is to promote harmony amongst probationers and for this we keep them as day scholars, arrange cultural nights and held class discussion on inter-provincial and inter-regional issues. We try our best to create unity among the probationer.

On asking what makes a bureaucrat corrupt Mr. Khalid became quizzical and tried to shift the onus on the system but as we rummaged through the debris of some wasteful behaviours he murmured that some bureaucrats had actually lost the spirit of nationalism. Becoming subservient to their master’s whims and wishes has set in jeopardy the whole idea of putting the house of the masses in order. Status, luxury and short-cut to success are the icons for which the race to an administrative job is joined. Mr. Khalid wonders why would an engineer, a doctor or a LUMS graduate having a lucrative career in the private sector opt for civil service knowing that private sector offer better remunerations. What could it be other than a ploy to make dough?

Unless we have in place the process of accountability nothing good can come to this nation.
 
Getting stronger in argument as our talk progressed Mr. Khalid rather emotionally said that ‘unless we have in place the process of accountability nothing good can come to this nation. He was so firm on this particular notion that throughout our discussion accountability became the buzz word. ‘Unless we have a system of check and balance and the procedure of putting the accuser on trial, the system cannot be reformed. We need to check people, keep an eye on their behaviour, put them under trial and punish them, he reiterated.
Selective justice is what has eaten into the fibre of this country.
 
Mr. Khalid certainly believes that at the end of the day it is the value system and the humanistic element of a given person that makes all the difference. He takes a deep breath and rumbles a well-known note that rings so true that one cannot ignore it. But the system has tremendous capacity to take in even the strongest into its clutches. He goes on saying that justice has stopped flowing from the offices of a civil servant. Instead the dispensation of justice depends largely on the discretion of the person sitting in these offices, bringing in the notion of selective justice. Selective justice is what has eaten into the fibre of this country. Why the trend of suo moto notices has become so common today in this country, not because the judiciary has become overactive but because the office of a civil servant has stopped to be the guardian of justice.No doubt, transfers and postings depend on the political clout of certain politicians, I am at pain to see that a lot of bureaucrats are serving out of context to their aptitude or competency. Their relevancy falls in altogether different field while the postings demand something else from them. In such an enigmatic situation how can we expect any progress or efficiency? So surely not only ad-hocism should be eliminated but security of the tenure must be ensured as well.

I strongly believe that incompetency is a form of corruption as well, which is a major challenge to our nation today. We are doing what we are not cut for. From Patwari to the person sitting at the higher echelon of power has no clue of the rudimentary of his business. Every Patwari has a Munshi appointed with a salary package of one hundred thousand rupees to carry out work for him, the same is true for the SHO, usually he does not know how many cases are registered in his thana.

Here at CSA we prepare the probationers for the tough times ahead.
 I agree that the salary package is quite low and needs lots of attention from the government. But people who join us, they come with the understanding that they would be paid less. I do believe that an officer should be given at least as much that he could live a respectable life. I would come to the same point that unless we have a functional and sustainable system we will not be able to get out of the rut. Now look at the priorities, official residences in Islamabad are given to journalists, but not to the CSP officer. Here at CSA we prepare the probationers for the tough times ahead. We tell them not to expect that a just and equitable system will be working and you will get your share accordingly.

I would conclude that in the 30 years of my service I have learnt that in every department it is the absence of dedication and devotion that has caused more malice to this service.

By: Durdana Najam

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