Is civil service being compromised?
27 June 2008
The establishment of 14 parliament committees with chairpersons and vice chairpersons has ignited a debate among civil servants that the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa is compromising the independence of the executive from the legislative body.
The big question making the rounds is ‘how can the government maintain the system of checks and balances by having the MPs perform executive functions as well.’
The 14 committees will be scrutinizing government activity (including legislation), the conduct of public administration and policy issues. They are also empowered to look into public expenditure or the public service account for their actions and ask them to justify administrative decisions.
The legislature, executive and judiciary are separate entities and are supposed to act as a check and balance on one another. But, what happens to the system with the present scenario? The Prime Minister, Lyonchen Jigme Y Thinley, said that the 14 committees have no executive functions and that they would rather offer checks and balances to the executive body of the government.
He said, “A government functions well not only when the three branches of the government function separately but interact and check one another.”
To have more committees was better, he said, pointing out that the previous National Assembly had no capacity to examine and scrutinize the government as it had only three such committees. He added that all the 14 committees were important and that they would not only function in the parliament but also with the ministries.
Lyonchen held that the establishment of the 14 committees would also help the MPs by giving them the opportunity and the responsibility to learn, understand and to be proactive. “It creates the opportunity for a dynamic and purposeful National Assembly.”
Regarding the presence of MPs as board members in government organizations, he argued that the presence of a politician in an organization did not make it political. The government is going to be held accountable for the promises that it has made, hence, “It must be left to the genius and the hard work of the government,” he said.
Lyonpo Tshering Tobgay, the opposition leader, said that the Prime Minister, during a National Assembly session, had stated that there should be “as many committees as possible.” He recalled, “I suggested that we establish only those committees that were necessary for the proper functioning of the parliament.”
He added that he had reported that the committees should be established only by properly verifying the need of the committees and after finalizing it’s mandate, scope, roles and responsibilities. “Unless we carefully consider the committees, the proliferation of the committees may interfere in the work of the executive and the civil service,” he said.
Kesang Wangdi, the MP from Khamdang Ramjar constituency (Trashigang) said, “Through the creation of the committees, the Prime Minister envisages to keep the MPs engaged and raise issues that the ministries fail to bring to light.” He agreed that the MPs had to be careful not to interfere with executive functions .
He also said that the MPs should not be board members at government organizations as it is an executive function. “We are politicians and we should not step into organizations that are supposed to remain apolitical,” he said.
National Council member, Sonam Kinga, said that though the committees were created especially to review issues, according to the constitution, the review functions rested with the National Council and that the issues reviewed by the National Council would be submitted to His Majesty the King, the Prime Minister and the National Assembly.
“Hopefully, the committees will function only to actualize their legislative mandate and the committee works will not conflict with the independence of the executive from the legislative as well as the apolitical nature of the local governments,” he said.
By Pushkar Chhetri
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Just one comment.
This time RCSC or any agency behind this has made a strategic move for the performance of our government and for the better delivery of services to the people. RCSC did the right thing.
We are living in an environment where you either have to lead, or follow or step out of the way. If a person is not aligned to one of these forms, the person is detrimental to an optimal performance.
The survival of the people and the country is dependent on the speed of economic development and the economic prosperity of each citizen rather than through the accumulation of henchmen in civil service and their un-progressive cultural intoxications.
These group of people, who shamelessly hinge on outdated experience, were not aligned to the three forms, therefore, they have to be moved out through the above course of action.
There are many such non-aligned civil servants in our civil service, who do not perform, 8 am-4.30 pm work time oriented civil servants, relying on arrogance and corrupt practices, etc.
So it is time for RCSC to move in and clean these unproductive people. RCSC, as mandated by people for carrying out the job description, must do some more.
Our civil service must be the guiding pillars of knowledge and wisdom for economics, social, sciences, technology, nature and culture for economic prosperity of each citizen and for the sovereignty of the country.
Any civil servants who do not promote and practice knowledge on these fields, but receiving monthly payrolls, should be sent home for greater good.
Why this first commentator is saying something totally different to the article that he is supposed to comment on. Keep away and don’t bring your foul mouth here if you do not know what you are supposed to comment on.