Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.In a reality where cats are the most adorably devious creatures in existence, it’s only natural for them to seek unlimited political power – and they need your help!Ĭreate your cute, cuddly candidate, and realize your dreams of world domination by assembling a team of tiny humans to manage your campaign and get you elected. Published in The Express Tribune, January 14 th, 2020. Unless we solve the core issues of public-sector governance, tenure security, matching skills with job requirements, introducing incentives for success and accountability for failures, this cycle will continue.Įvery time, the government gets heavier, taxpayers poorer, and egos of the status quo champions a bit taller. The problem is not unique to computerisation and is manifested across all sectors. The cycle starts yet again with the new government in place. Politicians blame the babus, the babus blame politicians, but no one fixes the system. Old practices are conveniently resumed, but not without the project staff getting permanent, the project cars ending up at bureaucrats’ houses, and the departments getting fatter. The system works for a while but then is gradually abandoned and declared flawed. Rents are at risk, turfs are threatened, and attitudes come in the way of change. If the project really brings efficiency and transparency as originally intended, it is bound to step on some toes.
The procurement is complete, the software deployed, and the project is declared a success. Sometimes the media gets the whiff of the project and a debate starts or else the NAB would write a letter, slowing down the already sluggish progress.įew lucky projects manage to sail through these stages. Then comes the usual project delays, design flaws, low quality vendors and procurement compulsions forcing to go for the lowest cost options. Usually by this time, either the secretary or the minister is changed and the project becomes an orphan. The process nevertheless takes time and involves compromises. Good public servants are often lured by more powerful positions and not available for reform projects. Good private sector people are too expensive to fit into government salaries and are often discouraged by the public-sector attitude. The next challenge is to find a project team. Without political manoeuvring, the project may only get a miniscule portion of its cost, making it linger on for years waiting for the rest of the funds. Interestingly, approval of PC-1 is no guarantee that money would be made available to execute it. Once PC-1 is approved, the battle for funds starts. The PC-1 then starts its journey through the complex maze of approval forums (DDWP, CDWP and ECNEC) and appraisal process, questioning the number of cars and salary of project staff, but never the technical design. Mostly, the PC-1 ends up being quite different from what was originally intended. Help is often sought from donors, consultants or in some cases even the potential suppliers. For any complex PC-1, the government generally does not have the in-house capacity to design it. The project design needs to go into the age-old PC-1 forms. There would be two immediate challenges: designing the project and finding money for it. Let’s say the first step is to digitise a particular ministry. Let’s suppose a well-intentioned politician wants to digitise the government. Why is there a big gap between what’s promised and what’s delivered? And why is it that almost nothing lasts? The so-called “computerisation” has actually been done many times over in the files, but not as much on ground. Every time it seems we are going to succeed. Ever since, I have encountered numerous similar projects. I remember sitting in a presentation of the e-Government Directorate, about two decades ago as a low-lying civil servant, listening to similar promises of automation and paperless offices.
And why not! Pakistan is far behind on the digital curve, with offices full of green-ribboned files that take ages to move.īut I’m having a déjà vu moment. The plan is to computerise the whole government.
He tweets Pakistan is the new game in town.
The writer is a public policy expert and an honorary Fellow of Consortium for Development Policy Research.