A better Public Sector, How we can make it a Reality and what if it is not a Reality.............

Please note the purpose of this article is to generate a professional discussion, not to trigger politically and emotionally driven debates, insulting and screaming. I'm willing to listen to all the sides and hope all the stakeholders' will respond.

Once again the country is in turmoil. After a couple of years of focus on growth, it yet has gone back to “Business as usual” with strikes and protests. As it has been for the last 30 so years from 1977, privatization being the hot topic of the season. Yet this time, it seems like there are two types of opinions. One supporting the fights and one opposing. It doesn’t mean that there was no opinion against these strikes earlier, it seems like this time due to technology and many other reasons, people who were silently opposing the strikes have raised their voices. Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not referring to the different politically backed up pressure groups of any party including the government and opposition. I’m referring to the individuals with no political affiliation to any of the political parties or trade unions, who has an opinion.

Though I’m neither a journalist nor a subject matter expert, I thought of highlighting few points I see regarding the situation, my opinion on those points and why my opinion was shaped like that. To be totally transparent, let me tell what I believe first. But I’m open to listen and change my opinion if justified.

I believe that all the government institutes except existing “Health”, “Education” and important administrative institutes (Ex/ Judiciary system, immigration, inland revenue, the central bank, etc.) should be privatized. This is my justification for this;

• Government institutes are (Especially Sri Lankan context) highly inefficient and will never be efficient.
• It is impossible to prohibit using these institutes as political weapons as long as they are under government
• As long as these institutes being inefficient, it blocks the whole country including the private sector being developed

Let’s try to understand these matters one by one.

Point 01: Government institutes are (Especially Sri Lankan context) highly inefficient and will never be efficient

By the definition, the goal of the public sector to create welfare for all its’ stakeholder groups. This includes the public, government, service providers as well as its’ employees. Hence government organizations always trying to create a balance between providing services to the public and level of pressure on its’ employees. Since the government is not having a profit-making motive, they can’t make money out of the public for the services they offer. They charge the minimum, mostly below cost. On the other hand, the government does not have so much money to pump into these organizations and there will not be much money in the future too. Even a government of a developed country do not have that capability. Hence they create a balance in the above by allowing the government workers to contribute in their bare minimum. Just look at a number of leaves and other non-monitory benefits they have.

So how to get out of this. Obviously, government employees need to be more efficient. But how to provide incentives for them to be more efficient? Either public organizations have to be profit focus or government need to earn money through tax and tariffs. Obviously, both are impossible.

Point 02: It is impossible to prohibit using these institutes as political weapons as long as they are under government

Politicians, especially not educated by formal or informal means find these already inefficient government organizations as gold mines. I assume I do not need to explain how they abuse them.

Point 03: As long as these institutes being inefficient, it blocks the whole country including the private sector being developed

When the government sector is blocked, it slows down the whole economy from approvals, customs clearance to legal arrangements. This cripples the whole private sector. This also opens the door to corruption. For an example, if the clearance in harbor or approval from a District Council is fast and proper, only the thieves have to use bribery. Then they will be caught immediately.

Who are the real culprits…………………..

So in my opinion, government sector should be scaled down due to above reasons. If government sector can overcome especially the first case, they expanding government sector would be beneficial without a doubt.

But who actually blocks that. For me, people who are shouting to protect the government sector are the real enemies. They are the people who stop government sector being more effective and efficient.

I do not know much about history but from the short history I know, I can’t remember a single strike, picket, hunger strike or even signing a petition demanding to;

• Reduce the number of leaves the government sector has
• Increase the efficiency
• Introduce performance-based incentives
• Improving discipline
• Increasing the number of productive working hours
• Take action/increase the rules against bribery and corruption at all levels (Everybody talks about politicians, but it is there at all levels in different scales)
• Eliminate the influence of the unions (politically aligned) on corporate decision-making [Unions of opposition always shout on this, but that is for the political gain because they do the same when their governments are in power]

Also, I haven’t seen a single news conference or a published proposal to;

• Utilize an underutilized resource
• Improve the productivity or efficiency
• Reduce the expenses

They do nothing to remove this cancer or give medication. When someone tries to do that, he or she goes on strike claiming there is an effort to remove the benefits he or she fought and won.

If this continues;

There will be two possible outcomes;

• Either the government will go bankrupt like Greece or Zimbabwe

Can you expect a government to facilitate a continuously growing public sector without increasing their earnings? It is impossible. Also, can you expect the economy to grow (Simply meaning the private sector to grow) without super efficient public sector (If the public sector is not being super efficient or services provided by the public sector is not privatized)? Again the answer will be "NO". Then the government will fall into the vicious cycle of borrowing money to cover recurring expenses which can only survive until "Lenders" give money.

The moment they refuse to like the Europian Union did to Greece, the country will go bankrupt.

• Or there will be a “Revolution” which will again be useless as proven throughout the local and world history

How to Overcome this (Political historians in LinkedIn, please correct me if I’m wrong? This is my view only);

Let’s look at the history of almost all the developed countries in the world. They all have one in common (I suppose). They had an “Autocratic Leader with an intention to develop the country”. Please note that I’m not saying there was a “Corruption free Autocratic Leader” or a "Dictator". This is true from Lee Kuan Yew, Mahathir Mohammed, Mao Tse-tung, etc.

I wonder whether it is time for us to search for an autocratic leader with a strong vision to develop the country.