The $61 million (Rs 3.6
billion) capacity-building programme for government servants
during 2004 has many loose ends that need to be tightened
to save the taxpayers' money from going down the drain.
After the government has already committed millions of
dollars from this money, which include $ 55m World Bank
loan, in the name of capacity building of hundreds of
officers, some serious lapses in the programme have been
identified questioning its proper utilisation.
Taking benefit of the "loose ends" scores of
bureaucrats have already started materialising foreign
trips out of this fund in the name of capacity building.
The economic affairs division sources told The News that
they have received unknown number of requests for processing
from different authorities for brief foreign visits of
even three-four days under the same programme.
Such short foreign visits in the name of attending conferences,
seminars etc are even being sought for contractual employees,
who are employed for a limited period of time and are
free to leave the government job anytime.
In their background interviews the authorities do admit
that there are some serious lapses in the implementation
of the programme. A government official informed that
the authorities are considering changes in the implementation
plan to plug certain loopholes if not all of them.
While there are different government departments who have
been given varied share of the loan money to attain the
same objective, the considerable chunk ie $ 25 million
has been offered to the Establishment Divisions to finance
its major capacity-building projects.
Professional Development Programme (PDP) and Executive
Development Programme (EDP) are the two major initiatives
being pursued by the Establishment Division to create
a mass of what it calls foreign trained "master trainers"
in the civil bureaucracy.
The PDP is a five-year programme for mid-career young
officers of BS 18 and BS-19. It is envisaged in the capacity-building
plan that the World Bank funding would be used to enhance
the skill base of mid-career civil servants through scholarship
programmes. It was promised that the brightest civil servants
from each group of civil service would be sent for Master's
degree programmes at world-class universities.
However, at the implementation stage except setting the
age limit, no strict criterion was enforced. Rather the
eligible officers were simply asked to independently apply
to the world's leading universities. It was said that
those offered admission would be offered scholarship.
A hundred officers, mostly belonging to the customs and
the district management group, were sent last year under
the same programme to world leading institutions in different
countries including the UK, USA, Australia, the Netherlands
etc.
In the next four years almost additional four hundred
mid-career officers would be sponsored to graduate from
foreign institutions. Interestingly after the first batch
of 100 officers left and their fees deposited, the authorities
realised that several of these officers had already foreign
degrees and some of them had even improved their qualification
from abroad from taxpayers' money.
There is at least one case brought to the notice of the
authorities where a district management group officer
had just completed his MBA from a leading business school
in UK but offered another scholarship for yet another
master to a country of her wife's posting. The officer
never served the government after he completed his last
UK degree but given a new scholarship.
Several others, who during the recent few years had done
their master degrees from abroad, have been offered yet
again the government funding to earn more foreign degrees.
According to a source another district management group
officer, who has done master's degree from a foreign university
through WB loan given to a specific project of the audit
department, is now enjoying a leading business school
in London where his fee is alone Rs 3.2m (£28,000).
Interestingly the officer, son of an ex-auditor general
of Pakistan, had never served in the project that had
financed his past master's degree.
Now the authorities feel uneasy as to how this all has
happened. They are now considering a change in the policy
to either restrict the foreign graduates to apply for
PDF or at least make it sure that there should at least
be a five-year break between the two foreign degrees.
The lax criterion for the PDF programme had also led to
the selection of three members of a family. The government
spends at least Rs 3.5 million on each person but there
are some who cost the government too high because of high
fee structure in certain institutions. Besides paying
the school fee, the government covers all others expenses
including their travelling, books, accommodation and food.
One fear that grips the authorities and also shared by
the World Bank is that whether all the highly qualified
officers would come back and serve the government unless
their salary structure is improved enormously. Conceptually
the programme agrees to the upward revision of their salaries,
however, the finance ministry is resisting this move.
They say that they could not double or triple the salaries
of a selected class of civil servants.
Another vague but very critical aspect of the whole programme
is the post-training career planning of the officers.
The concept paper promises that the foreign-trained officers
would serve as "master trainers". It is said
that they would be posted to training institutions and
where the government would require them on the basis of
their expertise and qualification. However, there is no
such policy evolved by the government.
Sources said that couple of years back, three young officers
were sent to Kennedy School of Government for degree programme
in public policy. They committed that after completing
their studies abroad, they would come back and serve in
the training institutions. However, when they came back
none of them did what they had promised. It was only after
a rare stance taken by former establishment secretary
Javed Hasan Aly that the three had to join the training
institutions.
Like the PDP, the EDP was also full of flaws and the authorities
are now considering changes to it also. Under the EDP
almost 200-300 grade 20-21 officers would be sent to Kennedy
School of Government for a four-week specially designed
course on public policy. The first batch of 36 senior
officers in BS-20 and BS-21 has already been selected
and leaving during the current week to join the Kennedy
School. The School would charge $17,500 for each individual.
The government would cover from the WB loan money their
travelling, accommodation, stipend etc.
On the papers the Executive Leadership Development (ELD)
programme is designed for senior members of the civilian
bureaucracy from national, provincial, district and local
governments to improve their effectiveness. However, those
nominated for this first batch of the EDP programme include
23 officers belonging to the district management group,
six belonging to the customs group, one each from accounts,
police service, foreign service, income tax and provincial
civil service whereas two officers selected are ex-cadre.
Now once the first batch has been selected and all set
for training, the authorities have realised that the selection
criterion was flawed as the age-limit set had primarily
allowed only the DMG and customs officers (whose promotion
prospects are better than others) to get selected for
this programme.
A government official when contacted said that although
they could not reverse what have been done, they would
certainly extend the age-limit for future batchs of the
EDP so that officials from all different groups/services
and even ex-cadre should get foreign training.
Like the PDP, the EDP would also serve as master trainers.
However, there is no strategy evolved to ensure that such
officers once returned from expensive foreign training
would serve against the specific jobs that match their
qualification and expertise.
Interestingly, many of those selected for the programme
have never been out of their respective province particularly
Punjab. These officers use their connections to remain
posted in the place of their choice consequently Lahore
in particular is today considered to have excessive number
of senior bureaucrats who are not willing to serve outside
the province.
During the recent years under the Pifra project, also
financed by the WB loan, innumerable senior bureaucrats
toured the United States and Britain for few weeks in
the name of short courses. Many of these bureaucrats were
nearing their retirement while majority did not stay in
the jobs relevant to their short-course.
The Pifra also offered foreign degree course to dozens
of officers but very few had served in the project while
some had never rejoined the government.
Meanwhile, it is also learnt that the World Bank has also
decided to hire a US $100,000 consultant from this loan
money to review the salary structure of the civil servants.
Many in the bureaucracy wonder as to why this generous
spending of the taxpayers' money when the high level pay
and pension committee is already doing the same task.
