The high level Administrative Restructuring Commission (ARC) constituted by the government a few months ago is at work to recommend measures for restructuring the administrative system in Nepal. The panel has already presented an interim report to the government suggesting ways and means to improve public service delivery system in the country. The interim report submitted to the government has identified key issues impinging on service delivery in the country. It has spelt out in no uncertain terms the areas needing improvement and adjustment to facilitate and deliver services to the people in an effective manner. The report is different from the similar previous documents in that it is specific, issue based and fixes responsibility on the agencies concerned to implement suggestions in strengthening service delivery system in a stipulated but realistic time frame. The report is shorn of classical clichés, jargons and bland statements. It lists key measures that can be put into effect at once without invoking any strategic and drastic initiatives that may demand additional resources, legislations and planning.

Delivering services to the people is one of the principal functions of the political and administrative organizations of the state. The legitimacy of the state rests on the efficiency and effectiveness with which it delivers services to the people. Services may encompass various areas and realms ranging from governance, social development to security. The report of the commission includes various dimensions of the services covering security, various aspects of governance and social development. These fall within the core function of the state. No government can shirk or afford to invent excuses for its failure to deliver these services. In a democratic set up, citizens have an inherent right to receive these services .The government is also duty bound to ensure that the citizens do receive these services promptly as and when they need them. In a way, denial of services to the citizens amounts to violation of rights at the behest of the state of itself.

The commission report highlights the importance of rule of law and makes special reference to the increased tendency of public authorities to override legal system, basic constitutional norms and values. The politicization of bureaucracy, disposition to use state machinery for partisan purposes and ends and manifest collusion between law enforcement agencies and criminals are some of the intricate issues spelt out in the report that have undercut the effectiveness of the public service delivery . The report accuses the political parties of meddling in the functioning of the government machinery,

making the civil bureaucracy a sycophantic organization in which conformism and compliance is promoted and accorded favour .

Meritocracy and rationality have been forced to take a back seat. Moreover, the report speaks of unionization of the bureaucracy where vested partisan interests are allowed to maneuver against the basic principles of civil bureaucracy. It is recommended that a total review be undertaken to assess the relevance of the plural and proliferating unions within bureaucratic organizations networked with political parties in the country. It will be in order to mention that at least four to five unions do operate within each bureaucratic organization giving rise to situations of unscrupulous tussles, obstructions and dissensions. It is alleged that these unions do come on the way of taking up initiatives for rationalizing positive changes and reforms within civil bureaucracy.

Likewise, the commission report enumerates a host of issues and problems from different sectors and sub-sectors that are central in improving public service delivery system in the country.

The sectors include health, education, transportation, land revenue, agriculture and so on. In regard to education sector, the deteriorating quality of education, poor and ineffective school management system coupled with poor delivery on the part of teachers at classroom, inability of the government to provide text books for students at the school level have been listed, among others. Some recommendations have been offered to correct these anomalies ruining the education sector that include introduction of participatory school management and monitoring system and collaboration with private sector for prompt and efficient production and delivery of school text books in the far and remote areas of the country.

The report thus places an important and critical agenda for reform at the disposal

of the government. The onus lies on the government to implement suggestions to strengthen governance system for service delivery. The importance of the

recommendations rests on implementation and enforcement. It is yet to be seen how the government treats the recommendations and initiates measures for putting them into action.

Rijal is member of the Administrative Restructuring Commission