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COVER STORY |
CIVIL
SERVICE
With the imposition
of the state of emergency, the common people have temporarily sacrificed their fundamental
rights and freedoms in the hope of gaining a safe and prosperous future. The civil
service, mired in disorder, sloth and inefficiency, needs to demonstrate the leadership
and vision to bring substantial change to the country. The government has mobilized its
security apparatus to restore public confidence and now the people want to see the civil
service do its part of the job. By KESHAB POUDEL In normal times, most of the civil servants
of district-level government offices in Kathmandu fail to observe the 9 A.M to 4 P.M
schedule. The imposition of the state of emergency does not seem to have changed their
ways. Although the Special Police Department has
announced it would conduct spot inspections to ensure attendance at government offices,
few civil servants seem to be worried. Nepal's civil service is virtually mired in
disorder where a sense of accountability is the exception, rather than the rule. "The Special Police Department cannot
harm my career as long as I have political blessings," a gazetted officer bragged on
condition of anonymity. The maddening rush among government employees to seek political
blessings has turned the civil service into a fossilized entity. The state of emergency, which was imposed
at the recommendation of the popularly elected government, aims to transform the lives of
the people and the behavior of society. If the people feel that such a drastic measure has
failed to bring any perceptible change, the elected government could lose popularity. In
this sense, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is on public trial. He has to drive the
civil service towards translating his government's objectives into reality the people can
experience. "The government is making all-out
efforts to mobilize the civil servants towards delivering services to the people
effectively and efficiently," said Minister of Information and Communication Jaya
Prakash Gupta, who is also the spokesman of the government. "As an accountable
government, we know our limitations and our responsibilities," he added. Improving Law and Order As soon as King Gyanendra ordered the
imposition of the state of emergency to quell the Maoist insurgency, the common people
heaved a sigh of relief, hoping that the move would bring lasting peace and stability to
the country. Although the people have had to sacrifice most of the fundamental rights and
freedoms they have become accustomed to over the last 12 years, they have overwhelmingly
supported the emergency order. In keeping with public expectations, the
Royal Nepalese Army ó the country's oldest professional institution ó has once again
proved its ability to meet any kind of threat to national security. The army, along with
the police, is gradually restoring normalcy in various parts of the country. The
restoration of law and order, however, will not be the only measure of success of the
emergency order. There are many other components covering a wide range of fronts that will
go on to establish whether the government's move was justified. "The government may have to pass
through different phases to prove the arguments it provided while announcing the state of
emergency," said a constitutional analyst. "First, the prime minister has to put
his announcement for ratification in parliament. The people will give a final decision on
the emergency in the elections," he said. "In a transparent and accountable
system of governance, the head of government is responsible for his right and wrong
decisions. If the people feel the prime minister's case is justified, they will give him
their votes to form the next government." As in other sectors, the prime minister is
solely responsible for enhancing the performance of the civil service. If the
administration is ineffective and incapable, it is the duty of the head of government to
put it back on the right track. "One cannot blame civil servants alone
for inefficiency, as it is the political leadership which has to give directions to the
administration," said a former secretary to the government. "Had the civil
service been treated professionally and allowed to work independently, it would have
delivered better results," he added. The country's security apparatus swung into
action immediately after the emergency order was issued. In the first 10 days after the
emergency proclamation was issued, security forces achieved tremendous successes in
destroying the Maoists' capability, including training centers and networks, in various
parts of the country. This has obviously restored the confidence of the people. The
reports of mass surrender of insurgents from various parts of the country indicate that
the Maoists are losing major ground. Through sporadic attacks, however, the
Maoists are trying to show their presence in the capital as well. Until the people come
out more vigorously to isolate the insurgents, the government cannot restore law and
order. Despite the successes in the first round of
the battle against terrorism, the task of reinforcing security and restoring confidence
among the rural and urban population remains daunting. The psychological trauma inflicted
by terrorism cannot be overcome overnight. After the completion of search-and-cordon
operations, the security forces have to undertake the important task of rehabilitating the
security apparatus and local bodies across the country, particularly in the mid-western
and eastern regions. An efficient civil service is a vital
component of the national rehabilitation effort the security forces, especially the Royal
Nepalese Army, have begun. Following the restoration of multiparty democracy, Nepal's
civil service has faced one serious setback after the other. As a result, the bureaucracy
has become a highly politicized and virtually non-functioning organization. If the government wants to inject life into
the civil service, the state of emergency can provide a useful opportunity to do so.
Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat and Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Mahesh
Acharya have directed civil servants to demonstrate greater efficiency in the days and
weeks ahead. "The time has come for civil servants to show their efficiency and
strength," said Dr. Mahat. That is an affirmation every minister and official should
be repeating.
Over the last six years, the
insurgents have terrorized the rural population by killing innocent people and disrupting
everyday administrative functions. "One of the challenges in front of the Royal
Nepalese Army is to inject a sense of security in the people," said Satchit Sumsher
Rana, former chief of the Royal Nepalese Army. That is where the civil service has to play
its part. The government is considering a blueprint to reactivate the bureaucracy.
"We are doing some homework for administrative reform and energizing the
administrative machinery," said Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat, principal adviser to Prime
Minister Deuba. "For the first time in many years, the people have felt the presence
of the state. The government is considering ways to push the bureaucracy into high
gear," he added. To be sure, the task of rehabilitating the
local bodies and police stations in remote areas will face its own set of challenges. The
Maoist insurgents have virtually destroyed local institutions and imposed their own style
of governance. The withdrawal of police posts and stations paved the way for the
insurgents to run large areas ruthlessly. Although regaining control of these regions
will be a mammoth job, the early signs are encouraging. "There was a tendency among
officials and the police not to go to the villages. After the imposition of the emergency,
that trend is gradually changing," said Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat. Political Support Although the imposition of emergency has
suspended certain fundamental rights of the citizens, all major political parties have
backed the move, hoping that it would bring normalcy to the country. If the emergency
lasts too long, however, the government may not be in a position to maintain such support. The government has repeatedly stressed that
the state of emergency is not directed against any particular ideology or political party.
There is growing public acceptance that the move is aimed at improving the law-and-order
situation. Although communist parties, including the main opposition CPN-UML, have
expressed reservations on the state of emergency, broad public support compelled them to
back the government's decision.
"Although the government did not
have an alternative to imposing the state of emergency, it is nevertheless difficult to
justify the curtailing of the people's rights," said Dr. Minendra Rijal, a young
economist of the ruling Nepali Congress. "A democratic government has to contest
elections and it has to be able to justify each action it takes," he added. While the government has been able to win
the support of all sectors, including opposition parties, it needs to take very cautious
steps in the days ahead to retain that support. "We are supporting the emergency
because this is the only way to restore law and order in the country," said Dr.
Prakash Chandra Lohani, vice-president of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), the third
largest group in parliament. Apart from the ruling party, the RPP is the
only political group that has given unqualified support to the emergency. In a cautiously
drafted statement, the RPP also urged the government to uphold the rights of the people. The main opposition CPN-UML has refrained
from clearly backing the emergency order. "We have already supported the emergency,
but we want to be sure that the ruling party does not misuse its new sweeping
powers," said Bharat Mohan Adhikary, chief whip of the CPN-UML. After Emergency A state of emergency is a temporary measure
that a democratic government eventually has to lift. Once that is done, the people can
evaluate the performance of the government. The government will have to make efforts to
ensure it continues to receive the opposition's support in the post-emergency
rehabilitation work. It will have to develop an all-party consensus every step of the way.
In view of Nepal's geo-strategic vulnerability, how the situation unfolds will also depend
on the role and commitment of its two large neighbors. After the emergency is lifted, the
government would require the support of opposition parties, the civil service and the
people to restore state institutions to their proper role. Although the opposition parties
havem backed the government's move and expressed their commitment to work with the people,
it remains unclear how events will play out over time. In a significant boost for the
government, Nepal's foreign friends, including its northern and southern neighbors,
instantly backed the country's moves to restore normalcy. "Facing an election after lifting the
emergency will be very challenging task for a democratically elected government, as the
prime minister would be exposed to criticism from the opposition for having curtailed
civil rights," said a political analyst. However, the imposition of a state of
emergency is not always bad for political leaders. In many cases, such a move has also
helped transform the image of politicians. "If the government exploits the
opportunity and brings normalcy to the country, the popularity of leaders may soar and
help them to win the elections," said another political analyst. As civil society, political parties and
citizens have thrown their weight behind the emergency order, the government needs to
exercise caution while using the sweeping powers it has received. "The people have
supported the emergency order in the hope that the government will provide security. It is
now up to the government to show that it is really sincere about fulfilling the people's
aspirations," said the political analyst. Role of Civil Service Whatever policies and programs the
government introduces to rehabilitate local institutions, the civil service will play a
key role in implementing them. If the civil service remains inefficient and
non-functional, no program can be expected to bring results. The role of the civil service is very
important in enhancing the image of the government. If civil servants work efficiently to
deliver the goods to the people, the popularity of the government will go up. It is the
civil service leadership's responsibility to set the administration into motion. "Nepal's civil service is
direction-less because of over-politicization. There is virtually no tendency to work
among a large number of the bureaucracy," said a former secretary on condition of
anonymity. "The bureaucracy is particularly vulnerable to the pressures of
political parties, which want to fulfill their interests through the administrative
machinery. Irrespective of party affiliation, politicians always have tried to weaken the
bureaucracy. This is a major reason why our civil service has not been able to develop an
independent identity." The civil administration needs to be
injected with a new spirit in order to revitalize a society that has carried the heavy
burden of six years of violent insurgency. As the leader of a popularly elected
government, Prime Minister Deuba eventually has to justify his stand that a declaration of
a state of emergency was the only way out in the given circumstances. If administrative
machinery fails to deliver the goods, the people will question the wisdom and utility of
having gone for such a drastic measure. "The state of emergency can be used to
change the pattern of the administration by injecting a sense of discipline among civil
servants," Prime Minister Deuba told reporters on Sunday. "The government is
making efforts to bring quick relief to the people." Without quick relief ó which would depend
on the efficiency of the administration ó it would be very difficult for the government
to explain to the people why they have been made temporarily cede their valuable rights. The emergency should not be confined to
matters of military or police operations. The whole administrative machinery should be
mobilized to achieve the objectives the government has set. However, the general
administration seems to be uninformed about the purposes of the declaration of emergency.
This lack of awareness, which would impede the government's policies and programs, cannot
be justified. The sacrifices the citizens have made in
foregoing their rights and freedoms must be compensated through efficient administration.
Without this, the government and ruling the party would ultimately find it very difficult
to face the people. The exercise of emergency powers is
considered a harsh measure under any political system, since it ultimately results in the
curtailment of fundamental rights of the citizens. Therefore, the state of emergency has
to be short, swift and result-oriented. The government has been making every effort
to justify the proclamation of the state of emergency, but its claims will be accepted
only if it meets its objectives. The people have supported the government's move to ensure
security and promote the rule of law. How the state of emergency will drive civil servants
to achieve these goals remains to be seen. |
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