Some days, some day dreams
It was the year 1989. I was doing my M.Sc. course in England under Colombo Plan - a special course, for which the participants were mostly the Administrative Officers of various countries. The course itself was on Project Planning and National Development Plan.
The participants from Asia, especially India, Pakistan, Bangla Desh, Sri Lanka naturally had many things in common. Outside the class room, there were frequent get-together, picnics and also serious meetings to discuss different problems of our respective countries and compare the situations across the border. Many participants were with their families and some had their community links too.
Topics discussed were
1) Emphasis on good administration :
i) IAS : generalistic v/s specialists.
ii) Transparency
iii) Public demand.
iv) A receptacle for good suggestions.
v) Can it adapt quickly for special cases.?
vi) Does it create convenience to public
2) Educational programmes :
i) Broadcast : Call it children's chunk.
ii) Keep giving vital statistics, snaps - make them aware.
3) Good developmental programme by IAS + NGO's.
Objectives : I) Public faith in Administration.
1) We need to improve administration.
2) IAS has still not become reluctant. Or has it?
3) Public awareness must be generated in favour of good IAS officers.
4) IAS must appear as vehicle of better administration - not many IAS are able to do so.
II) Public perception of IAS
- corrupt
- inefficient
- indifferent
- Good but not very imaginative - can be groomed.
- Initiators of good programs - Project them.
III)
Arouse public to demand better administration by presenting those programs.
Show a way to others.
For example :-
i) Transperancy e.g. in -
a) Folders.
b) Transfer policy.
c) Using computers.
d) How to clear 60-80 % work through bulk orders.
ii) Analyse - what creates the indifference in the services?
a) sense of participation.
b) Sense of achievement.
c) Sense of being rewarded for good work.
d) Sense of being punished unduly for small reasons.
e) Sense of being pushed into corruption because of other problems.
f) Overcoming stress and health problems.
( 2)
Families visiting for short periods.
All these gatherings were strengthened further in number because of many other courses going on simultaneously in the University, and the participants therein. Sometimes, participants of similar courses in neighbouring universities would also join.
Very often my house was the centre of these serious discussions and willy-nilly my two children were silent listeners of the talks which were often emotionally charged. The discussion would invariably turn to the enormous budget allocations going to Military sector which could be saved and diverted to education and health if only there was a better guarantee of non-war among our countries. My children were younger, quite fond of Kasim uncle of Bangla Desh, and Damit uncle of Sri Lanka and Ahmad and Usman and Hussain uncle of Pakistan and did not understand why all these talks about military expenditure. If we all were such good friends, where was the possibility of war between our countries? Why are wars fought among various countries in any case?
Other popular topics of discussion used to be corruption, deterioration of Administrative system, lack of values in education and so on. But there was also tremendous deterioration on economic front. Each of us felt that it was possible to bring back all the order- only we the like-minded needed to work harder and to network better. It was possible to make a Turn Around through determination, hard work and right direction.
Towards the end of our course we had individual and country assignments. For the later, all participants of country had to make a presentation of their National Development Plan- what were its special features, how it sought to remove regional and sectoral imbalance etc.
When it was turn for Pakistan's presentation, the four member team made a very good job through lot of slides, coloured charts and tables, maps etc. They explained what was total revenue, total expenditure, also the plan v/s non-plan distribution of budget, how plan budget envisaged to accelerate development, how plan allocations could help remove the regional imbalance among Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan and other provinces. Also how the plan tried to secure sectoral balance. All of it sounded very ideal.
Then the team members closed all their files and the team leader prepared himself for a more frank discussion. He told us in a very objective tone that all that they had been telling us for past two hours or so was theoretical. The truth behind it all was that every year budget requirement for running the Govt. was calculated. The money would come as Project loans from other countries but it was understood by all concerned that it was available for running the Govt. and not necessarily for the projects.
The participants from Asia, especially India, Pakistan, Bangla Desh, Sri Lanka naturally had many things in common. Outside the class room, there were frequent get-together, picnics and also serious meetings to discuss different problems of our respective countries and compare the situations across the border. Many participants were with their families and some had their community links too.
Topics discussed were
1) Emphasis on good administration :
i) IAS : generalistic v/s specialists.
ii) Transparency
iii) Public demand.
iv) A receptacle for good suggestions.
v) Can it adapt quickly for special cases.?
vi) Does it create convenience to public
2) Educational programmes :
i) Broadcast : Call it children's chunk.
ii) Keep giving vital statistics, snaps - make them aware.
3) Good developmental programme by IAS + NGO's.
Objectives : I) Public faith in Administration.
1) We need to improve administration.
2) IAS has still not become reluctant. Or has it?
3) Public awareness must be generated in favour of good IAS officers.
4) IAS must appear as vehicle of better administration - not many IAS are able to do so.
II) Public perception of IAS
- corrupt
- inefficient
- indifferent
- Good but not very imaginative - can be groomed.
- Initiators of good programs - Project them.
III)
Arouse public to demand better administration by presenting those programs.
Show a way to others.
For example :-
i) Transperancy e.g. in -
a) Folders.
b) Transfer policy.
c) Using computers.
d) How to clear 60-80 % work through bulk orders.
ii) Analyse - what creates the indifference in the services?
a) sense of participation.
b) Sense of achievement.
c) Sense of being rewarded for good work.
d) Sense of being punished unduly for small reasons.
e) Sense of being pushed into corruption because of other problems.
f) Overcoming stress and health problems.
( 2)
Families visiting for short periods.
All these gatherings were strengthened further in number because of many other courses going on simultaneously in the University, and the participants therein. Sometimes, participants of similar courses in neighbouring universities would also join.
Very often my house was the centre of these serious discussions and willy-nilly my two children were silent listeners of the talks which were often emotionally charged. The discussion would invariably turn to the enormous budget allocations going to Military sector which could be saved and diverted to education and health if only there was a better guarantee of non-war among our countries. My children were younger, quite fond of Kasim uncle of Bangla Desh, and Damit uncle of Sri Lanka and Ahmad and Usman and Hussain uncle of Pakistan and did not understand why all these talks about military expenditure. If we all were such good friends, where was the possibility of war between our countries? Why are wars fought among various countries in any case?
Other popular topics of discussion used to be corruption, deterioration of Administrative system, lack of values in education and so on. But there was also tremendous deterioration on economic front. Each of us felt that it was possible to bring back all the order- only we the like-minded needed to work harder and to network better. It was possible to make a Turn Around through determination, hard work and right direction.
Towards the end of our course we had individual and country assignments. For the later, all participants of country had to make a presentation of their National Development Plan- what were its special features, how it sought to remove regional and sectoral imbalance etc.
When it was turn for Pakistan's presentation, the four member team made a very good job through lot of slides, coloured charts and tables, maps etc. They explained what was total revenue, total expenditure, also the plan v/s non-plan distribution of budget, how plan budget envisaged to accelerate development, how plan allocations could help remove the regional imbalance among Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan and other provinces. Also how the plan tried to secure sectoral balance. All of it sounded very ideal.
Then the team members closed all their files and the team leader prepared himself for a more frank discussion. He told us in a very objective tone that all that they had been telling us for past two hours or so was theoretical. The truth behind it all was that every year budget requirement for running the Govt. was calculated. The money would come as Project loans from other countries but it was understood by all concerned that it was available for running the Govt. and not necessarily for the projects.
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