Editorial»
Room to bloom
JUL 07 -
The bureaucracy continues to be the victim of political intervention
It is often thought that government bureaucracies become dysfunctional in the absence of effective elected political leaders to lead them. And it is indeed true that the political instability of Nepal’s recent history—the short-lived governments of the 1990s, the reestablishment of absolutist monarchical rule under Gyanendra, and the continued struggle over the state in which the parties have been since the 2008 Constituent Assembly (CA) election—has rendered the bureaucracy directionless and paralysed. There are indications, however, that despite being repeatedly shaken up, Nepal’s civil service has been able to maintain its integrity to some degree. Many bureaucrats are committed to their profession and to the state, and are keenly aware of their responsibilities. In cases where politicians seek to forward their partisan agendas through the ministries that they control, bureaucrats often have no choice but to submit to the will of their bosses. But in cases where political intervention is limited, bureaucrats are often capable of showing creativity and initiative.
This was most recently seen in the process for granting a contract to companies for supplying Machine Readable Passports (MRPs) to Nepal. As will be clearly remembered, the foreign ministry’s attempts—under pressure from Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala—to give the contract to India without following the due contracting process led to disaster. Not only did this lead to wide public criticism and forced the government to withdraw its commitment to give India the contract, Nepal was unable to adopt MRPs by the deadline set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which caused some embarrassment internationally. Now, however, with the current government only occupying a caretaker status, officials at the Foreign Ministry have pushed forward the process. To all appearances, the decision taken to grant the contract to the French Company Oberthur was undertaken following all rules and regulations and in a transparent manner. Ministry officials were able to push through this process in a relatively short period of time and effectively due to a lack of political intervention.
Granted, the civil service should not at all times be allowed to act independently. High quality political leadership is necessary if the state bureaucracy is to act in accordance with the desires of the population, represented through their elected representatives. At the same time, however, it is equally necessary for elected politicians who find themselves leading ministries to respect and make full use of the expertise of the civil servants who staff the ministry. Unfortunately, this mutual respect has been lacking for much of Nepal’s recent history. Political leaders are often keen to impose their own agendas on the ministries they control, leading to weakened performance and a loss of morale among civil servants. This needs to change, but given the country’s current instability, it will likely take some time before a healthier relationship between politicians and the bureaucracy is established.
Posted on: 2010-07-08 08:02
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