Move to speed up reforms in civil services

The government will set up a commission to expedite reform of the civil services and public institutions as a mid-term review of the sixth five-year plan found little progress on the issues crucial in establishing governance.

The Planning Commission outlines a strategy to boost public services every five years. The ongoing programme was set in July 2011, to expire in June next year.

"We [the authorities] are setting up a new body to look into the terms and entitlements of various institutions," said Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday at a meeting on the latest plan at the National Economic Council in the capital.

Shamsul Alam, a member of the general economics division of the Planning Commission, who presented at the meeting the review report covering the first three years of the plan, said progress had been made in terms of some governance indicators.

"But more progress needs to be done." 

The committee will probably be set up after the prime minister and Muhith return from a visit to the United Nations this month. It will be given six months to make recommendations, the finance minister said.  

An efficient civil service system and strong institutions are important for reducing corruption, ensuring proper implementation of public money and delivering better services to people.

The size of the government has expanded in the last 30 years, but it is still functioning on the basis of the 1983-85 Enam Committee report, Muhith said, adding that the new commission would be asked to submit a report like the Enam Committee did.

He acknowledged the incumbent government's failure to bring about any substantial change in public services in the last six years.

"We have not done anything special in public service reforms. There has been limited progress. The number of staff has increased but reforms have not taken place."

Muhith also said reform of public services would not come so soon. Since the Public Services and Pay Commission has not submitted its report, the government has held up quite a number of reforms that it thought of and prepared.

A draft of the Civil Services Act has already been prepared, but the government is yet to make the next move.

"We will give attention to it after we get the Pay Commission's report by December this year," said the finance minister in response to comments by Mustafizur Rahman, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue.

The economist said the mid-term review had not touched on governance issues.

"We are doing Medium Term Budgetary Framework, but we have not been able to strengthen our institutions. Had it been done, the country would have progressed far better," he said.

Strengthening the judiciary to achieve faster disposal of civil and criminal cases requires particular attention, said Shamsul Alam, the Planning Commission official.

The review of the latest plan also pointed to the problems in the civil administration.

"In an environment of weak administrative capacity and limited budgetary resources, efficient planning and budgetary systems can play an important role in helping improve the efficiency of public spending," the review report says.

To improve governance and institutions, attention should be focused on developing and strengthening a number of core public institutions, including the central bank, ministry of finance, tax department, planning commission, audits and accounts, parliamentary sub-committees, land administration and the public utilities, it adds. 

Emphasis has to be on improving services in education, health, population, nutrition and water supply. The capacity of the public administration also has to be enhanced, according to the report. 

There should be a long-term strategy for re-building the civil services considering the socio-political realities of Bangladesh. The basic features of a reform strategy for civil services include merit-based recruitment and promotion, strong training, ensuring proper incentives and work environment, establishing and enforcing clear rules of business and codes of conduct and seeking feedback on performance through a citizen's charter, recommends the report.