Civil Service Reform

Governments elected by the people formulate policies. They need support in order to carry out these policies. Public servants play a crucial role in the implementation of these policies. However, due to certain shortcomings in the public sector, civil service reforms have to be carried out from time to time.

The very definition of ‘civil servants’ could vary from country to country. These personnel could include all those directly employed by federal, state and local governments. Administrating such a vast number of personnel can be a hard task. Any civil service reform usually aims to increase the efficiency and the transparency of the public sector. However, in some countries these types of reforms are done with political objectives aimed at increasing the number of public servants supportive of a certain political party. This kind of a civil service reform would result in corruption and inefficiency in the public sector.

If you aware of the history of civil service in the country, you might have heard of the civil service reform which took place in 1883. This was a milestone in the history of civil service. Some intellectuals who lived during the 1860’s understood the importance of a public service where people with merit are given the opportunity. The agitations and the perseverance of these intellectuals played a crucial role in the civil service reforms that took place during the 1880’s. President Garfield who opposed the reforms was killed by a man who is believed to be an office seeker who has gone mad. This provided further impetus to the civil service reform movement of those days.

Naturally the civil service underwent various transformations under different administrations. Politics and economics seem to have played a crucial role in the history of civil service reform. For example, during the days of the great depression, the civil service expanded in a significant manner. This was partly in response to the crisis, in order to deal with the depression in an effective and was partly an attempt to provide employment. Significant civil service reform was also influenced by revelations of corruption in the public sector.

The ‘Watergate scandal’ opened the doors again for reforms in the late 1970’s. The scandal did not just damage the reputation of President Nixon. It did considerable damage to the image of the civil service. This resulted in civil service reforms that removed some of the powers of civil service commission. Some activities of the commission were taken over by other government bodies.

Despite all these reforms corruption and malpractices still occur within the civil service. We still hear various revelations of such incidents, from time to time through the media. Further civil service reforms might be necessary to combat these problems. Civil service must be made as transparent and as efficient as possible.

It is your job as a citizen of the country, to support any meaningful civil service reforms aimed at achieving this goal.