It will be hypocritical and a sad day if new Govt makes same mistakes it accused previous Govt of doing
Whether we like it or not, the high public expectation for Governments to perform, drives them to use every avenue available at their disposal to deliver on their election promises.
They will use their political authority and influence to get things done.
The FijiFirst Government did it. Now the new coalition Government is doing it.
The line that separates the executive (civil service) and the legislature (Parliament) is blurred as a result.
They are supposed to be independent of each other in theory. But in practice, their functions overlap. The civil service is there to provide the administrative and implementation support of the new Government’s policies.
The civil servants may give advice and recommendations to their line ministers, but it’s up to the ministers to make the final decision. Whether it’s right or wrong, the Government will be held accountable, not the civil servants.
Every four years the people have the opportunity to judge the Government through its performance, primarily on whether it delivered on its election promises.
That’s the bottom line.
In some respects, the new Government is battling the bureaucracy and it can be frustrating in trying to get things done quickly.
While there is a lot talk about replacing senior civil servants who had aligned themselves with the previous Government, it’s not simple as it sounds. Getting the right people to fill those positions is critical. In carrying out this exercise the Government has been leaning towards not only gender balance, but racial balance.
This approach is a departure from the principle of meritocracy that the previous Government practised. That principle had generated a perception that the previous Government had ignored other races and favoured one ethnicity because when the post holders were lined-up they were dominated by one ethnicity and heavily represented by one religion. The argument that they were appointed on merit did not cut it with many people because they could only process what they saw. As a result, racial and religious prejudices unfortunately came to the fore. The new Government has the mandate to implement changes it believes will move the country forward and make good its promises to the people.
The process may include moving aside senior civil servants in key positions including permanent secretaries.
Those who stand to make way were used to a different culture and way of doing things under the FijiFirst. Eight years and another eight years under a military regime are a long time and it might not be easy to change in a short time.
It could take longer than expected to purge the top echelon of the civil service aligned and sympathetic to the former Government.
As long as the law is followed and changes are done not willfully, but with wisdom and integrity, then things should be okay.
It will be hypocritical and a sad day if the new Government repeats the same mistakes, it accused the FijiFirst Government of committing.
NEMANI DELAIBATIKI
Feedback: nemani.delaibatiki@fijisun.com.fj