Remember the public

The public seems a little under-prioritised in the latest attempt to reform public services. The draft Public Services Bill, as reported by this newspaper on Monday, has set its heart on a code of conduct. Rigorous dos and don8217;ts will be set out. Politicians will have to take no for an answer. Discrimination of all forms is disallowed. This sounds fantastic. Which is why it may remain a bit of a fantasy. The history of human endeavour is littered with good intentions that remain on paper. Of course, efforts should be made to ring-fence officials from unscrupulous politicians and a properly selected regulator would be useful. But the more practical and logical reform of public service should have a different starting point.

The government serves people 8212; hence the phrase public service. All reform is meaningless if the civil service can8217;t satisfy its consumers. There are bits in the proposed law that seem to focus on this. Performance appraisal via measurable input-output indicators would certainly be an improvement on the current opaque appraisal system. But such changes still don8217;t make the public an explicit factor. For civil servants to be responsive to the aam aadmi they need to know that their career prospects depend on their contribution to building effective delivery mechanisms. Are passport officials graded on their ability to cut queues? Are DMs evaluated on the basis of the efficient use of social welfare funds in their district? Have police officials ever been told they have to stop behaving like a colonial law and order force?

But there8217;s a flip side. As this paper has argued several times, an underpaid public servant can8217;t be motivated to work better. Government salaries are absurdly low. They need to have some connection with market-determined incentives and then the case for instilling a new service ethos will become practicable. These are basic private sector wisdom 8212; pay well and demand that employees focus on making end users happy. But public service by definition is also special. Bilking taxpayer-funded government is more serious than bilking a shareholder-owned private company. The best guarantee for higher accountability comes not from codes but from real fear of disclosure. The bill talks of a good whistleblower scheme. Just remember Satyendra Dubey to see why it is so important.