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Shape up, PM tells civil servants

* Gilani says bureaucrats must help people, not control them
* Vows to do away with all ‘obstructive laws’, reform government practices

LAHORE: The perception that bureaucracy is a hindrance for people seeking access to public services needs to be changed, and civil servants must become ‘enablers and facilitators’ rather than just being ‘regulators’, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani told participants of the 90th National Management course and the 5th Senior Management Course at the National Management College on Saturday

Asking civil servants to get their act together, the PM urged them to make coordinated efforts, assuring them of the government’s support in all pro-people measures.

He said their job was not to control people’s lives or dictate their conduct - except where required for greater good - but to help the people help themselves.

Gilani said the challenge was to shift focus from policy advice to delivering positive outcomes. “It [requires] project management. It means adapting to new paradigm, altering rules and practices accordingly,” the PM said.

He said policy implementation was the weakest area of the bureaucracy. “Policies are launched with a lot of fanfare but their implementation is either slow or delayed to such an extent that their [usefulness] dwindles with the passage of time.”

Reforming govt practices: Vowing to reform the government’s business practices, Gilani said, “Rules should not be allowed to become [a] hindrance to the process of service delivery. All rules and laws that are an obstruction must be weeded out”. A civil servant’s performance reflects the government’s performance, he said, adding that the government was clear in its vision of a prosperous and progressive Pakistan, at peace with itself and its neighbours. The challenge now, he said, was to achieve a sustained, high trajectory of economic growth, meeting the Millennium Development Goals and reducing poverty substantially

The PM said new jobs were being created to minimise the burden on the poor and the government had initiated an income support programme for wider public welfare. Earlier, the prime minister distributed certificates to 135 civil servants of grade 19 and 20. Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer was also present on the occasion. app/online

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