Public service and Governance
1. Introduction
“A public service is a service benefiting the public that is provided
for by the government because it is underprovided by the market. The
public benefits from outputs and outcomes of the given service, not merely
inputs. For instance, buildings, textbooks, teachers, assurance of pedagogical
training and quality instruction, are all inputs for delivery of education
service, but the public service is to yield an output of students with skills”
(World Bank, 2014).
So public service is a mechanism of government to provide its services to the people.
Good governance is a process of executing a coherent governing plan for the nation
based on the interests and priorities of the people.
Its purports are to create a society based on the principles of inclusiveness,
liberty, equality and cooperation. Those who are in the office,
especially the elected ones, must represent the concerns, values and needs of
the people and empower them through the realization of their basic
rights, including the right to development and self-determination, by
developing their access to markets, assets, goods and services and institutions
(Dahal, Uprety, & Subba, 2001).
Principles and Policies of Local Self-governance: Government shall, in
accordance with the guidelines set forth in the Constitution of Nepal, 1990, on
decentralization; pursue the following principles and policies for the
development of local self-governance system (Government of Nepal, 1999):
(a) Devolution of such powers, responsibilities, and means and resources
are required to make the Local Bodies capable and efficient in local
self-governance.
(b) Building and development of
institutional mechanism and functional structure in Local Bodies capable the
government to consider for local people and bearing responsibilities.
(c) Devolution of powers to collect and mobilize such means and
resources as are required to discharge the functions, duties, responsibility
and accountability conferred to the Local Bodies.
(d) Having the Local Bodies oriented towards establishing the civil
society based on democratic process, transparent practice, public
accountability, and people's participation, in carrying out the functions
devolved on them.
(e) For the purpose of developing local leadership, arrangement of
effective mechanism to make the Local Body accountable to the people in its own
areas.
(f) Encouraging the private sector to participate in local
self-governance in the task of providing basic services for sustainable
development (Government of Nepal, 1999). However, practically the situation is
quite opposite
The creation and strengthening of local institutions can be ascertained
with the links of five key governance issues:
1) The natural way of governing citizens;
2) Way of deepening democracy-power devolution reaching from central to
the very local;
3) Accountability and responsiveness of the government;
4) Correction of the failure of top-down approach; and
5) The cost effectiveness of the government
(Rai & Paudel, 2011)
2. Public Service Delivery
·
The
practice of power for the management of economic and social resources in the
development of the state the rules that answer the questions who, what and how
decisions are made and enforced 87 is Local governance whereas exercise of
political authority and the use of institutional resources to manage society's
problems and affairs and system that manages the public affairs related to
social and economic resources locally is local governance (Regmi, Naidoo,
Greer, & Plkington, 2010)
·
It has
been argued that decentralization improves governance and public service
delivery in four ways:
o by increasing allocated efficiency adhering
to the local needs and interests;
o Improving efficiency
through increased accountability of local governments;
o Having fewer
bureaucratic layers; and
o By providing equitable opportunities for
people
(Regmi, Naidoo, Greer, & Plkington,
2010).
Similarly, these public services reforms in the form of a
decentralization plan were implemented in Nepal on both political – strengthening democracy, accountability and
participation by bringing government closer to its public – and economic
grounds, such as the need to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency and
responsiveness of public service provision (Regmi, Naidoo, Greer, &
Plkington, 2010)
3.
International Practice of Governance in Public Service Delivery
From Asia Development Blog:
India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand are paving the way for
technology to make governance more effective.
One aspect of new technology that receives considerably
less attention is the transformative impact that it could have in improving the
effectiveness of government.
According to the World Governance Indicators compiled by
the World Bank, on a scale of 0 to 100 in terms of government effectiveness,
for e.g., India scores 57, Indonesia 55, the Philippines 52, and Thailand 67.
For perspective, advanced economies in Asia such as Japan and Singapore score
93 and 100, respectively.
New technologies hold great promise for improving
government effectiveness, a multi-faceted concept that includes, among other
things, control of corruption and efficient delivery of public goods such as
education, health, social security, and transport. Here are five examples of
how governments in developing have begun harnessing technology for better
government.
A. National ID systems to improve tax compliance and
provision of public services.
Asia is home to nearly a quarter of the world’s
population with no official proof of identity. India’s Aadhaar digital
ID program has now registered approximately 1.2 billion Indians covering 99% of
the adult population, and it is being used to deliver government subsidies,
benefits, and services.
Success of India’s Aaadhar ID system has spurred
interest across Asia
On the back of this national ID program, India is
improving governance in other areas such as tax enforcement and compliance. In
July 2017 it rolled out the Goods and Services Tax (GST), with all filings
required to be done electronically through the GST Network,
a web-based one-stop shop for all of India’s indirect tax requirements.
The GST Network is linked with the national ID system,
which is in turn linked to individuals’ bank accounts; unlinked accounts are to
be frozen by banks. The mandatory electronic tax filing minimizes taxpayers’
physical interaction with tax officials and has already broadened the tax base
substantially – in just six months the Indian government added 3.4 million new
indirect taxpayers to its rolls.
B. Reducing corruption in land management systems using
blockchain.
According to a study by Transparency International, an
estimated $700 million is being paid in bribes at land registration
administrators across India. The government of Andhra Pradesh state
is utilizing blockchain technology to address issues of fraud and corruption in
the state by implementing a blockchain-based platform which would make land
ownership data records encrypted and thus incorruptible and transparent.
Crowdsourcing technology can improve quality of public education
C. Quality education and training: skills for the future.
As highlighted by the 2018 Asian Development Outlook theme
chapter How Technology Affects Jobs,
quality education is key for preparing the workforce of the future. Workers
with better foundational skills—which include not only basic reading, writing,
numeracy but also social and emotional skills and digital literacy—are better
placed to learn new skills and adapt to working with new technologies.
More generally, new technologies have the potential to
transform public education through new approaches such as adaptive learning
(powered by machine learning) and massive online open courses.
D. Better provision of healthcare services.
Thailand is pursuing ambitious plans in healthcare
delivery, spurred by its desire to become Asia’s healthcare hub. The government
created a Ministry for Digital Economy and Society in 2016 and has developed a
National Digital Economy Masterplan with a four phase 20-year schedule.
The first masterplan (2017-2022) includes a digital ID
system, with plans to establish government Big Data with a Data Analytics
Centre, which “will create preparedness for utilizing artificial intelligence.”
It will integrate the Thai Public Health System and Personal Health Records
(PHR), allowing both professionals and patients to access information to
monitor progress, seek advice and make doctor appointments online. The PHR
system will issue smart health ID numbers to access healthcare services.
E. Transport and urban management.
We do not need to wait until automated vehicles to arrive in mega cities in developing Asia to see that new technology promises to transform public transportation and urban development.
4.Governance Principles Critical To The
Public Sector
Unique governance principles arise from
the unique nature of the public sector. For example, unique to the public
sector is the importance of political forces, the not-for-profit nature, and
the ultimate objective of public service for many public sector activities.
Simultaneously, public sector entities hold coercive (e.g., police, taxation,
and regulatory) powers over citizens and economic enterprises, and thus they
must enact protections to ensure fairness and accountability in the use of
those powers and in the delivery of the expected services. These protections
are fundamental in political systems in which citizens endow the public sector
entities with their powers. In general, any form of public sector entity can
benefit from accountability measures that ensure officials use resources and
authority to meet the mandated goals and objectives. Moreover, good public
governance requires fair and impartially enforced laws and regulations. The
absence of good governance structures and lack of adherence to basic governance
principles increases the risk of public corruption, which is defined as the
misuse of entrusted power for private gain. Therefore, in addition to the basic
governance principles described in the previous section, upholding the
principles of accountability, transparency, integrity, and equity are essential
in the public sector.
-Accountability.
“Accountability is the process whereby public sector entities, and
the individuals within them, are responsible for their decisions and actions,
including their stewardship of public funds and all aspects of performance, and
submit themselves to appropriate external scrutiny. It is achieved by all
parties having a clear understanding of those responsibilities, and having
clearly defined roles through a robust structure. In effect, accountability is
the obligation to answer for responsibility conferred.” (Source: IFAC,
Governance in the Public Sector: A Governing Body Perspective, 2001).
-Transparency.
The principle of transparency relates to the openness of a public sector entity
to its constituents. Good governance includes appropriate disclosure of key
information to stakeholders so that they have the relevant facts about the
public sector entity’s performance and operations necessary to clearly
understand motives and reach correct conclusions about the impacts of its
actions. Accordingly, the public sector’s decisions, actions, and transactions
must be conducted in the open. Many public sector entities are required by law
to make public documents available upon request. Additionally, many public
sector entities are required by law to publish meetings notices including
specific agenda items. Although the public’s interest is sometimes served by
protecting information from disclosure — such as instances where national
security, criminal investigations, or the proprietary information of a private
company would be compromised — the transparency of public sector actions and
information plays a significant role in public oversight.
Auditors can provide a direct link between
transparency and the credibility of the public sector entity. Lawmakers and the
public look to audits for assurance that public sector actions are ethical and
legal, and that financial and performance reporting accurately reflect the true
measure of operations.
-Integrity.
The principle of integrity calls for public officials to act consistently with
the ethical principles and the values, expectations, policies, and outcomes of
the public sector entity. The erosion of public trust if public information and
actions are not credible and reliable undermines the public sector’s legitimacy
and ability to govern. The political, social, economic, and environm ental
costs to society can be extensive. The principle of integrity also applies when
information is disseminated to lending authorities or other principals who have
an interest other than an ownership share. The consequences of violating the
expectation of the highest integrity can be swift and shattering when the
people’s trust in the public sector, its institutions, and leadership is
undermined.
-Equity.
The principle of equity relates to how fairly public sector
officials exercise the power entrusted to them. The public grants its agents —
public sector officials — both money and power to carry out their
responsibilities. However, it is concerned with the misuse of public sector
power, waste of resources, and any other issues involving corruption or poor
management that could negatively impact the entity’s obligations and service
delivery to citizens.
Public sector equity can be measured and
evaluated across four dimensions:
1.
Service
costs are paid using taxes and fees charged by the public sector
entity and borrowed funds that will be paid from future taxes. Service costs
also may include indirect or future costs resulting from current public sector
action or inaction.
2.
Service
delivery includes direct services, such as transportation
infrastructure, public education, and health, as well as indirect services such
as financial stewardship and human capital management.
3.
Police
and regulatory power concerns the public sector entity’s use of
its coercive powers: arrest, property
seizure, eminent domain, and regulatory
processes such as granting liquor licenses or building permits.
4. Exchange of information
relates to transparent decision-making, including access to public sector officials and
records, and the ability to be heard.
5. Conclusion
Nepal still faces challenges in public service delivery. A sizeable
number of people do not yet have access to basic public services. It is not
uncommon to find people who have hardly had access to basic public services.
Likewise, the efficiency and quality of the services being delivered is still
generally low. Some health facilities, for example, are devoid of essential
medicines and equipment or the medical personnel to work at the facilities.
This poor state of service delivery has been causes of public concern
both Central Government (CG) and Local Bodies (LBs) are responsible for
providing services (Regmi, Naidoo, Greer, & Plkington, 2010). The role of
the CG in service delivery is critical, since it has the lead role in policy
formulation, financing, regulation and actual delivery.
However, the delivery of the CG has not been as efficient and effective,
as would be desired, owing in part to a long chain involved from policy
formulation to service delivery, lack of local control, poor match between
financial allocation and local preferences among others. In recent years, the
role of the LBs in service has been increasing. Delivery has substantially
increased. However, they are yet to be established as institutions of public
service delivery (Regmi, Naidoo, Greer, & Plkington, 2010). Suman Kharel
Research Nepal Journal of Development Studies (Volume I Issue 1, 2018 May) 88
another source of inefficiency of the public service delivery system at the LB
level is the lack of local control over their staff and thus, weak
accountability relationships with clients/ citizens. Since the
secretaries/chiefs of the LBs are centrally controlled in terms of their
transfer, promotion, dismissal, salary and other pecuniary benefits, there is
no incentive for these officials to be accountable to the LBs' political
representatives. The constitution should provide for proper and adequate
institutions ensuring accountability of the local governments without which
there is no guarantee that local public service delivery will improve. In this
regard, the role of the electoral system, intergovernmental relations and
citizen empowerment in development programs is critically important. Likewise,
fiduciary issues (financial management, procurement, budgeting, accounting,
auditing and reporting) will require focus and clarity across the tiers of
government. Rights to information, including enhanced social accountability
mechanisms and cognizance of environmental and social safeguard issues will be
important. Hence, Scandals involving public officials have often captured world
attention. Most of these scandals are as a result of the deteriorating ethical
behaviors of the public officials who have indulged themselves into all sorts
of malpractices. There is therefore a genuine demand that public sector
institutions should strengthen ethics, integrity, transparency, accountability
and professionalism.
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