by Ranjith C. Dissanayake(May 01, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The public service of today – to say the least – is probably in its lowest ever ebb. I say this with responsibility. Today if you go to any public department, office or corporate body to get any work done, you will be simply pushed from pillar to post. Hardly can you get even a very trivial job done in a hurry. At every nook and corner you are compelled to 'oil the palm' of someone or the other. Today nothing can be done for ‘summa’. Unless you part with some amount of your hard-earned money, absolutely nothing can be expected from our public sector.
Although the government offices are scheduled to start work at 8.30 a.m., it will be a shocking surprise if you can see the officer in his/her seat even at 9.30. Even if the officer is available you will have to wait until he/she has finished breakfast, reading the newspaper, or chatting with others. Then you are offered lukewarm treatment, you will be required wait until the particular file is found, then to get your matter expedited again the same old ritual. Even if you are to offer 'jarawa' there are occasions when your job will not be done.
Sadly no official in however much a high position, post or command he or she may hold, is ready to go out of their way to help the public. They strictly stick by the ARs and FRs. They are never willing to take responsibility and go out of their way to help the public by taking a decision on their own, disregarding AR and FR. What is the use of a government servant - viz. a Ministry Secretary, Actg. Secy., a Director, Asst. Director or any staffer, if they cannot go beyond the ARs and FRs and take a decision of there own to meet a public need?
I can cite not one, but several instances of blatant and scant disrespect to the public by some high ranking and mid-level public servants. By 12 noon nobody is at their seat, all gone for lunch and will return only after 2.00 or 2.30 p.m., for all are used to relax, play carrom or table-tennis, read newspapers (for women to gossip, sew cloths etc.) for over an hour after their lunch. Then by 4.00 p.m. all counters are closed, desks locked up and officers walk out one by one. When you are supposed to work a solid eight hours a day and you work only five hours or less a day, can we expect a country to develop?
The other startling thing is there is hardly any co-operation and co-ordination between inter-departmental or inter-public sector institutions and local bodies. The officers conveniently shelve responsibility and duties and always try to pass the buck on to the other. If you go to your local PS, you are asked to go to the UDA, who in turn directs you to the PS and so on. We are sent in a merry-go-round until we are fed up with whole set up.
To all those responsible and in authority – from our politician-rulers to the bureaucracy, I make this ardent appeal on behalf of the suffering masses, the poor general public; unless some stern and firm action is taken to stamp out bribery, waste and corruption from all levels of the public service, unless responsible officers are willing to take decisions on their own, the general public will lose faith in the system and the public service will become an 'eyesore'.
- Sri Lanka Guardian
 The public service of today – to say the least – is probably in its lowest ...){kind=link}
Sri Lanka is unique not only in terms of public service incompetance but also of foolish gulibals. The very public who are at the receiving end are the ones who champion and espouse the cause of enlarging the public sector.
Sadly majority of Sri Lankans lack 'critical thinking ability' This is a result of the ailing education system. Ane our people think our education system is the GOLD STandard in the world.
It may be the prefereed option for all politicians ( ruling and opposition) to keep people less educated in the name of Free education which itself is a fazard.
Lack of critical thinking ability among majority has made all kinds of elments such as politicians, public officals, private sector and even religious and social sectors to exploit peole from morning till night.
Just imagine Every day from the moment when you wake up till you end the day and go to bed for the nightly sleep, how many encounters you will have to be the subject of deceit, cheat, fraud, mislead?
An some have chosen to call this land the 'Loken Uthum' or DharmaRajjiya'
Once agian it proves my argument. We lack critical thinking ability or in one word GULIBALS to describe it best.
This type of lamenting can fall only on deaf ears - Guaranteed.
That is the quality of Gulibals we are.
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