Siddha Raj Pant:

Efficient and effective delivery of public services is the backbone of good governance. Responsiveness in dealing with the public services at a given time and the vision for future needs and challenges, and strategies to address them are the major undertakings by the civil servants. These tasks are intertwined in such a way that failure of one task affects the other severely. The exigency and complexity linked to a particular service determines the skills, technology, and corresponding resource requirements linked to it. As a matter of fact, the organisations take shape of a pyramid with varying degree of skill, technology and human resource requirements for effective and efficient delivery of the services.

While there is a plethora of experts and schools of thought in the field of good governance, the subject itself is spoken of generically. From a layman’s perspective, it can be demonstrated through courteous ambassadorship of the lowest rungs of the employees that encounter the general public first. Curriculum in the subject such as secretarial management and customer relationship are in high demand. It is clearly distinguishable between the private and public sector offices.

In the private ones, customer satisfaction, among other things, makes or breaks the business while public

sector is always in short supply of these qualifications. In the public sector, one hardly finds assistance without earmarking a reasonable cost that varies from anything from time and wandering around in search of the person in charge to the cash cost of getting things done.

Process-based bureaucracy only delays the decision-making without accountability. Technology is rarely used but has become an essential element to showcase the machine to demonstrate one’s authority and utility but is not acceptable means of formal communication between the ranks that makes Tippanis as essential as the work itself. A typical application to the authorities may require a postage stamp, copies of certificates, payment voucher and so on but these things are not available under one roof. However, some wise ones have begun part-time business of selling postage stamps.

Overcrowding in the public offices is a major nuisance. Usually, a large number of employees without having anything to do fill these offices. While these are a burden to the taxpayers, it is even worse for the State to let their skills and productivity deteriorate. Another area of concern is the dilapidated infrastructure, poor ergonomics and stench in the government offices. Unfortunately, the reform in Nepal is known, in common parlance as privatisation, and is becoming a subject of lip service to seek increasing donor assistance. However, an analysis reveals that the reforms are urgently required at all levels and spheres of state functions. The reform needs to be understood as an improvement in doing things effectively and efficiently.

The reform, to be visible, may involve redesigning the work practices of our public sector inherited through the generations. While the complacency of qualifying for public service commission tests could be replaced with performance-based time-bound contracts, the employees should be usefully and productively employed, infrastructure should be maintained and process of service delivery be made effective and efficient by using management information system and information technology in the administrative work. The government should perform only the core functions, leaving the rest to others through cost effective and innovative approaches such as public-private partnerships.