• Public Service as a profession

However, I wonder if there is another kind of good that the Public Service can and should deliver; a good that is more closely connected with democracy.

We are used to the idea that the principal responsibility for representing citizens should fall on elected politicians. This is an idea that I, for one, do not wish to disturb.

However, while politicians are best placed to represent citizens, it does not necessarily follow that they are best placed to consider the interests of those citizens.

Indeed, I would like to propose that one of the critical tasks of the Public Service is to ensure that the interests of all within society … even the most marginal … are taken into account in the development of advice and policy for government.

As you may have noticed, I am speaking here of citizens’ interests …. which I would distinguish from wants. Typically, the market responds to the articulation of wants.

Professions should only ever serve interests. Being subject to popular election, many politicians will find it practically difficult to look beyond what people want … and as such, politicians participate in the marketplace for votes.

It is a credit to the political class that so many of our politicians are prepared to accept political risk by promoting the interests rather than the wants of their electorates.

Yet, representative democracy is under strain … severe strain caused by the overwhelming dominance of party machines (that often make parliamentary deliberation an irrelevance) and the influence of unaccountable policy makers’ advisers who shield policy makers from the consequences of their actions.

All major political parties have a case to answer in relation to the way in which they have misused policy advisers to dismember the doctrine of political responsibility; a doctrine that is central to the constitutions of this land.

It may not be fair to hold politicians to a practically impossible standard, in which we presume that they truly know what is being done in their name.

However, it is essential that this presumption be maintained. Not fair to some, I agree. But politicians volunteer for the role … and to be frank, the consequences of error are far less than those risked by others who choose to serve in the military, police or a host of other public services involving risk to life and limb.

It is against this wider background of the market … in general and in democratic politics … that the idea of a professional Public Service actively seeking to ensure that all voices are heard and considered in the development and implementation of policy makes sense, not as a substitute for the political process, but as its complement.

Anyone who has been exposed to the corrupt conduct of government officials will recognise the fragile nature of our public goods. Any one of those goods listed above … health, justice, and security and so on can be denied the public by corrupt officials.

Fortunately, we experience relatively low levels of corruption in our country. That said, there are some jurisdictions where the maintenance of standing commissions to investigate corruption is an essential safeguard … but one that can only be expected to go so far.

For all of their skill and endeavour, such entities embody a negative mission …. namely, to prevent or detect corruption.  As such, they are bound to focus attention on eliminating the odd rotten apple.

Of equal or greater importance is the need to promote a positive vision of public service and the values and principles that should inform the practice. This is primarily a role for the leadership of the public service.

In general, people wish to be employed in organisations for which they feel proud to work. Such a desire can be harnessed to positive effect … especially when advanced techniques are used to select employees whose values and principles are congruent with those of the organization; that is, to recruit and retain people who are not merely willing to comply with the organization’s rules and regulations but who embrace and apply the underlying principles.

However, the greater the alignment between people and their organization’s values and principles, the greater the risk that any perception of hypocrisy (especially in the conduct of the organization’s leadership) will give rise to disappointment and then cynicism.

Again, the reality of politics (as opposed to public administration) can present a particular challenge to the Public Service. Where a policy maker acts in a manner not entirely consistent with the public interest, then there is a risk that public servants might conclude that what is good for the goose is good for the gander or, less prosaically, If our leaders don’t believe in what we say about the public interest, then why should we?

It is but a small step from there to see the ideology of the market embraced … with the pursuit of self-interest progressively holding sway. Wherever this occurs, the integrity of public administration is undermined … literally at its foundation.
 (To be continued)

The author is a Development Policy Analyst.

Email: bazimya@yahoo.co.uk