No efficiency in state ruled by bribery

THOSE of us who were tasked to introduce the first Western-built jets to an airline behind the Iron Curtain, Nicolae Ceausescu state airline Tarom in Romania, discovered a world where the state controlled everything, so in fact all employees worked directly or indirectly for the state, and to give the impression of full employment, two, three or four were employed to carry out each task.

There was no such thing as DIY, as only a state authorities person was allowed to carry out any specific task – from putting fuel in your car to painting your front door.

It was a world in which no-one had any incentive to provide a service or politeness, unless they were bribed, even expecting a packet of Western cigarettes for providing us with a receipt when we paid for a meal. And, like state employees (civil servants) in this country, the last thing they ever thought of was how to be more efficient, and how much less of our taxes they could spend that day.

Brian Christley Abergele