Our Share of Development

Progress

S Ranugge
B. A. (Hons), M.A. (ISS), SLAS
Hubert H Humphrey Fellow
Country’s Economic Indicators*

Year Per capita Foreign Foreign Debt Balance of

GDP (US $) Reserve (US $ (US $ Payment (US
million) million) $ million)
1950 - 190.4 26.3 35.0
1960 142 90.3 61.8 - 40.0
1970 184 42.3 419.2 - 7.0
1980 273 245.5 1,666.8 - 191.9
1990 472 435.0 5,783.1 118.7
2000 869 1,049.0 9,031 - 521.0
2010 2,744 7,196.5 21,437.9 921.0
2020 3,682 5,664.3 49,211.6 - 2327.7
Who are we in the development process?
• We are partners in the process
 How?
 As implementors of public policies
 Implementors are the public officials like you all
 Engineer as one group of public administrators.
According to Stillman* Public Administrators
could include;
• engineers,
• law enforcement officers,
• scientists,
• doctors,
• educators,
• accountants,
• policy analysts,
• clerks,
• budgetary personnel,
• human resources experts, or
• individuals engaged in a host of other occupation and functions.

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How we (public officers) have been doing
over the years?
• Doing well?
• Doing enough?
• Doing very bad?
• Who are responsible?
Simple Answer:
Those who have been/are governing the country
- They are politicians as policy makers and public officers as policy
implementor.
Who are the Public officers?
• Those who are paid with consolidated fund with some exclusions
• They are also called ‘public administrators’
• They are part of the executive branch of the government.
Policy making and implementation
• Who are the policy makers?
 In a democracy like ours policy makers are the politicians elected by
the people at elections.
 In a democratic country they are at different levels of government.
• They are associated with public officials for implementation.

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Politicians and public officials
 There is a relationship between the two groups.
 They together form the executive branch of government;
 one group is elected by the people and
 the other appointed directly by the elected people or the mechanism
designed by them.
 You are appointed by a mechanism designed by the political
authority,

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Different sources of appointment
• Senior officials are appointed directly by the political authority.
• They include secretaries of Ministries and heads of departments.
• There are certain procedures to be followed in this process.
• Usually these appointments are done with senior most officials of the
government (of the respective services) (the UK and India)
• This is a tradition rather a rule – principle of meritocracy
• Exception in the case of Sri Lanka after 1967 – (political patronage)

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Democracy and bureaucracy
• Different roles for politicians and for public officials (bureaucrats)
• Dichotomy between politics and administration
• Functional differences;
• Politicians are expected to make policies following the will of the
people and
• Public officials are to implement such policies.
• Why not implementation by politicians?

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Democracy and…
 But there is interaction between the two, specially at the higher-level
providing policy inputs in the policy making process by the senior
officials with their long experiences.
 On the hand, politicians have the right to monitor the progress of
policy implementation as they are accountable and answerable to
the citizens.
 On the other hand, public officials are indirectly accountable to the
citizens as they are paid with tax payers money.

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Politics and administration
• Political sensivity in administration (in the case of Sri Lanka)
• In the Ministries and departments senior officials are subjected to
politics as they closely interact with politicians
• At lower level officials are less sensitive to politics.
• This is the opposite at field level as the field level officials are closely
interacting with politicians.

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Ministries and Departments

High High
Snr.
Mgt

Middle
Management

Low Low
Lower Management
 Field Level Officers

Low Low
Snr.
Mgt.

Middle
Management

High Lower Hugh

Management
Why this situation?
• Seniors like secretaries and heads of departments are political
appointees.
• Some of them are career public officers
• Their tenure depends on the pleasure of the political authority.
• They don’t have legal protection.
• But other officers belonging SL 3 and SL 1 categories come under the
purview of PSC.
• They are legally protected against any injustice
Why this situation?
• They have right to appeal – AAT, CA and SC.
• But SL 3 officers, being seniors find some practical issues in the work
place.
• You are at lower level and don’t have such vulnerabilities.
• Therefore, if you are committed and competent you can do your job
without any fear or favor.
• Competency in conceptual, human and technical skills.
Where you are in the organizational
structure?
 You as new entrants are at the bottom of the managerial structure of
the organization
 Your internal interactions with the work place and external
interactions citizens.
 Those who are working in the central Ministries and departments
you have limited interactions with external actors.
 Those who are working in the field they have to work with the
multitude of actors including local politicians and civil society groups.
 This is challenging.
Where you are in…
• You are required to possess some special skills to deal with the
situation.
• At your level you have technical skill.
• But to work with others you need human skills:
• How to acquire such skills?
• Through learning, training and practice.
• Equip yourself, be competent, serve with dedication and commitment
in the country’s development process.