Whither Meritocracy & Honesty in Civil Service?

Opinion

By Harry Booluck

In a recent newspaper interview, former Senior Chief Executive Asha Burrenchobay talks about the extent to which nepotism, sinecure, over-manning, waste and corruption have become rampant and have contributed to balloon the 2023/24 budget to some Rs 200B. Given the prevailing situation, couldn’t the administration be run with a 25% budget reduction without compromising the quality of services? Many think it is possible to do so.

To run the colonial administration, the British had recourse to UK-trained locals. (In India, the East India Company recruited top graduates from a select few British universities to run the administration.) Later, they set up Royal Colleges and other universities manned by qualified British citizens to inculcate European standards among the native recruits. They succeeded in creating in the Indian sub-continent a level of service they copied from Britain. Mauritius too had mandarins of the calibre of Simpson and other foreign-trained local talents who excelled during the transition from colonial rule to independent Mauritius.

However, a few decades after independence, the rot started to penetrate the service. With regime change in 1982 the country started witnessing a backsliding of meritocracy in favour of nepotism where merit was thrown out by the window. Many with top qualifications and who had passed the competitive entry exams with flying colours were side-lined or fired in alleged public interest to be replaced by others for political or ideological reasons. 

When meritocracy is thrown out of the window, isn’t ‘honesty’ the logical collateral victim? It’s no wonder that reports of fraud and corruption have become commonplace today, and perhaps reaching d its zenith during the Covid-19 pandemic which turned out to be a godsend for a few, as evidenced by the subsequent scandals and dilapidation of public funds (Pack & Blister and Molnupiravir scandals.

Downscaling meritocracy is frustrating, counter-productive and against the public interest. In Singapore ever since Lee Kwan Yew’s time, emphasis has been laid on meritocracy irrespective of ethnicity. This, coupled with rewards and punishments, has made Singapore the envy of the rest of the world. In Mauritius, the scourge of corruption has become so frustrating that many of the younger generation are seeking greener pastures overseas.

After the departure of the SSR government in 1982 and the ensuing state capture of institutions that followed, the service has been in decline; witness the squandering of scarce public resources with impunity despite recurrent Audit Reports. Salvation lies in the promotion of accountability, efficiency, meritocracy and honesty if we want to raise the standard of the service and put a stop to the recurrent waste of resources. Non-disclosure of information in Parliament would suggest that the authorities do not want to let the cat out of bag.

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 28 July 2023