adminThe Flip Side Kuthula Matshazi
THE public service is an important administrative arm of government that helps politicians transform the aspirations of citizens into tangible programmes and services. It is, conceptually, a neutral body of specialised occupational functions that is supposed to serve the government of the day with impartiality.
Although the civil servants function within political institutions such as ministries overseen by partisan politicians from zanu-pf, the public service is supposed to remain neutral. Neutrality is important to maintain integrity and impartiality in serving the needs of citizens regardless of their political affiliation.
The civil servants are hired for their expertise in public administration to keep the country functioning on a daily basis, and to provide continuity during and between government transitions. It would be an impossible task to replace the entire public service every time a new government comes into office. Instead, the government that comes or remains in power enjoys the relative stability of expertise at their disposal and corporate memory of civil servants. Although working for the governing political party, which is obviously partisan, to implement its national agenda,the civil service should remain impartial and focus on providing technical advice based on facts and leading practices, at all times.
The effectiveness of the three arms of government, the executive, legislature and judiciary, has a correlation to an effective public service. The more effective the public service, the more likely effective these three arms become. The public service predominantly implements services and programs that are handed down by these three arms of government. In addition, civil servants identify gaps in laws and policies and recommend reviews and enactment of new laws.
The efficiency of the parliamentary system, for example, is a major function of the public service. The civil servants provide research, co-ordination in lawmaking and other functions such as appointments to public bodies, and tabling of public documents that require parliamentary discussion or approval.
Civil servants ensure that mechanisms that protect and further the rights of citizens are in place and function effectively. Such mechanisms include environmental and human rights protection, social safety net, provision of water, etc.
The role of ministers, who are political appointees, is to ensure that the public service implements the political agenda of the governing party. For instance, the primary responsibility of zanu-pf ministers is to make sure that the civil servants channel their administrative efforts into the successful implementation of Zim- Asset, the party’s national socio-economic development plan.
The public service has a strong link to the private sector. Although the civil service is a function of a political institution — the government — it is responsible for formulating programmes and services, and implementing them for the benefit of private sector development.
In a developmental state such as Zimbabwe, the role of the public service is critical because of government’s extensive involvement in the economy. The public service drafts national socio-economic plans that become the architecture of the national economy, and identifies points of intervention for the government at a macro level either for regulatory purposes or to provide strategic direction to the economy.
In developed economies, the intervention of civil servants is equally or more important, especially for regulatory purposes owing to the complexity of the markets and the attendant challenges. Without government intervention, market forces will collude in pricing, engage in tax evasion, disregard standards in order to maximise on profits, etc.
While it is a fact that the private sector is the engine of the economy, the public service is the chassis upon which the economy is anchored. An efficient public service is likely to cause the establishment of processes and procedures that robustly support the private sector and economy.
To adequately tackle this and other challenges, the public service needs to be adequately resourced, be ethical, have highly competent and adequately educated people, with an up to date knowledge of public and private sector practices. It needs to be remunerated adequately for retention purposes and to avoid corruption.
Again, the effectiveness of the public sector has a correlation to the viability of the private sector. The efficiency of the Vehicle Inspection Depot, for instance, has a bearing on the safe transportation of goods and people, which is a key factor to the strength of the Zimbabwean economy. Government needs to prioritise investment and rationalisation of this sector so that it can undertake its mandate efficiently and effectively. An adequately trained and well-equipped public service will add immense value to the economy and socio-political processes.
Online Reporter