For transparent recruitment

Although jobs in the private sector are more lucrative in terms of salaries, the lure for government service still remains irresistible. The obvious reason for that is of course security of job. But no less tempting are the less-open-and- more-hidden fringe benefits. Getting a government job on merit is therefore a huge challenge, particularly if the vacancy is of Grade 15 or below. Barring a very few exceptions in most of the cases either one has to put 'wheels' - a euphemism for bribery - to his application or secure political 'sifarish' (recommendation), which may have a price tag too. In fact, there is a kind of price list for recruitments to jobs in the federal ministries, departments and government-controlled corporations. Pay hard cash and get the job of your choice. Will the powers-that-be ever succeed in cleansing the stables by making recruitment to government jobs more transparent and on merit? It can for there is an opportunity for our parliament to legislate a private-member bill that seeks to amend the Public Services Commission (Amendment) Bill. The said bill, moved by Dr Fouzia Hameed, has been unanimously approved by the Standing Committee of National Assembly on Cabinet Secretariat - despite stiff opposition put up by an official representing the Establishment Division, who kept insisting that the Federal Public Service Commission doesn't have the desired capacity to cope with this challenge. But the committee members were of the view that 'no one would point the finger at the politicians or others if the FPSC recruits candidates in Grade 11 and above in a transparent manner'. The committee also recommended that recruitment to these jobs should be completed in eight months - instead of six months as proposed by the mover of the bill. Most of the government departments make recruitments in Grade 15 and below through the National Testing Service (NTS), which has been described by a member of the committee as "fraud."
The officials in Grade 11 to 15 are the public face of the government. It is they who have to interact with people on a day-to-day basis. And it is there that curses like bribery and corruption flourish - sometimes for self-aggrandizement and sometimes for the welfare of the 'sahib' up there. If someone is in chair of authority in that bracket of bureaucracy courtesy the price he paid for that position then there is every likelihood that he would try recovering the price he had paid. But if someone is in that chair having established his credentials as deserving then there is a strong likelihood that he would be acting honestly and making decisions on merit. Given he is not beholden to anyone except his own merit and competence he is very likely to be fair-minded in dealing with the public. And, also given the fact that most of these face-to-face encounters take place in provincial government offices it is all the more relevant that recruitment to these grades in provinces is also done through provincial government service commissions. But as we wish the bill to allow FPSC make recruitments in Grade 11 to 15 we also want that the said bill is passed by parliament as quickly as possible and is not consigned to state of limbo as many a private-member bills have been.