KARACHI: The Public Service Day is being marked all over the world today and the public servants who served masses are being encouraged giving them awards.
Unfortunately, hours before the Public Service Day, Pakistani parliament elected Raja Pervez Ashraf as the country’s 23rd prime minister who not only failed to deliver as minister for water and power to the nation but also deceived them through making false promise of resolving the power shortage issue in 2009.
This is a day when importance of service to masses is to be highlighted but what message we are giving to the world today by electing a man who rendered no services at all.
On this day, the United Nations and its member states are admitting and awarding those who served the masses with dedication and fulfilled their commitment. But in contrary, our PPP-dominated parliament elected a man who committed breach of the trust of 180 million people. In a situation when captain of a ship is least concerned towards public service then what can be expect from the departments which work under his authority.
Without good governance and efficient, competent, professional and highly dedicated public service, sustainable development and livelihood are jeopardised.
The focus of the day being marked on June 23 since 2003 is to “celebrate the value and virtue of public service to the community”. Here the debate is not to necessarily celebrate the day but focuses on the importance of taking serious steps on part of the concerned public departments to improve public service. Unfortunately, the people and the organizations are not much aware about its concept in the country. In simple words, we can say that every person/official providing services to citizens/community is a public service provider.
When looking around we find most of the people have numerous complaints against the performance of various service providing departments, including railways, Nadra, hospitals, telecommunication, post office, police, gas, electricity and water suppliers. However, the government has never bothered to seriously consider the grievances of the masses and take initiatives to improve the performance of the departments engaged in public services.
An official at the National Institute of Management (NIM), Karachi, formerly known as National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA) said the people who undergo training at the institute deliver better performance as compared to those who do not join training sessions. Talking to this scribe, he added that the performance of the trained people is not up to our expectations as other factors also play role in this connection besides the training.
The official said to attain the desired results, training methodologies are reviewed regularly by the trainers of all NIM stations i.e. Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi, Quetta at the end of each course.
What we need today is to focus on governance, motivate public servants to enhance professionalism in the public service, raise the image of public service and enhance trust in government.
—-The writer, Maqsood Hussain, is a journalist and freelance documentary producer associated with a leading Pakistan-based English language newspaper.
Dear TNT Reader,
At The News Tribe, our mission is to bring you free, independent, and unbiased news and content that keeps you informed and empowered. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism, as we understand that we are a platform for truth.
Apart from independent global news coverage, we also commit our unique focus on the Muslim world. In an age marked by the troubling rise of Islamophobia and widespread misrepresentation of Muslims in Western media, we strive to provide accurate and fair coverage.
But to continue doing so, we need your support. Even a small donation of 1$ can make a big difference. Your contribution will help us maintain the quality of our news and counteract the negative narratives that are so prevalent.
Please consider donating today to ensure we can keep delivering the news that matters. Together, we can make a positive impact on the world, and work towards a more inclusive, informed global society.
Donate Monthly Subscription Annual Subscription