If I may, Suggest 4 Things —A Citizen to Govt
Just before letting my 6-year-old son be part of a focus group discussion, as part of consultation for drafting a child policy (based on the headlines from todays news — not actual content), I thought as the father and perhaps just as a citizen of Maldives, I might share my thoughts on 4 broad areas, that I would like to highlight, perhaps based on what has happened over the last 30 days after the new coalition government took over.
1. Long-term Development Plan Vs 100 Days
Over the decade, we are seeing most of the countries regionally as well others, moving away from even 5 year development plans towards more vision oriented strategies or plans, which focus for a much longer duration and some are addressing the economic vision and some from the socio-economic perspective.
The 100 Day plan has shown from past experience or even the last 30 days that this is a shopping list, which is done for the sake of doing nothing but something and these are not sustainable initiatives but rather a tick box activity. Once the first 100 days are gone, of course without counting weekends, we would move to another 100 days and this is a good strategy to keep us all focused and talking about some short-term menial goals and trying to hold you accountable.
a. A Planning Bill to be drafted and enacted, which gives way for laying a strong foundation in developing a long term development plan encomposing all the developments needs from infrastructure, environment (climate change) to socio — economic needs.
b. Start the ground foundation for drawing up the Economic Vision 2030, which would be used as the masterplan for moving towards a more stable economy aligning to the broad National Development Plan.
c. Faciliate in establishing a Think Tank in Maldives, which is independent,who would facilitate the development of policies and undertake necessary research.
2. Top Heavy Management Vs Bottom-up Management
The biggest issue any government face is not because it has a strong decision-making body at the top, but because there is no empowered & skilled technical force to support these decision, who can draft them with proper researches and studies. The civil services lack staffs who are technically strong and who can work towards drafting policy based on evidence and support the top management in making more enforced decisions. Even if there are, they are not incentivized and they are overpowered by the demanding top management to fulfill their own issues.
The trend to give a slot to every activist as promised slice of cake, then you are just making a management structure, that would only draw policy based on preferences and would be busy trying to outsmart the other or just earn the brownie points over nothing concrete. That is if they actually take time to do so. Whereas, if you decide now — you could hire better directors, better technical experts to manage the institutions or organization more effectively and efficiently.
a. Reducing the number of Ministers at state, deputy level and abolishing coordinators or advisors, to developing a more robust incentivised mechansim for recruiting or retaining Departmental Heads with neccessary technicals skills, specialising in policy formulation and implementation.
b. Recruiting support staffs for various departments and empowering them to draft policies based on evidence and not assumptions. Understanding who develops policy, who implements them and who enforce them, and to empower for this process flow.
c. Revising the Salary Scale to attract more technical experts to work for the government.
3. Embrace Past Vs Destroy it!
See, if you dismantle the ice skate park and convert it into something else, at this very moment with the budget deficit you are just including one more debt to it. Whereas if you just let it be and focus your attention towards something better, perhaps you would be generating revenue. Don’t you think renaming, getting those printed, discarding all previous association is a cost? I mean assume you have -50MRF, and you need to spend -5MRF on all the name changing, well you can change and make it -55MRF on debt now or you can do something which would give you a quicker return and then spend that 5 MRF later when you are back into making money or atleast did some recovery? I mean you guys know how this work right?
Continuing projects that was done previously which is still relevant, well by any means correct any wrong doing, but cease a project because you think that would mean the past is going to get some prominence. I don't know, its you call, but just be rational.
a. While looking into the corruptions involved in a project, also look towards the impact, understand and analyize to draw the project towards a more sustainable feasible way than scrapping it off.
b. Prioritise what is important, not changing names or deciding on bringing things down. Proritising development initiatives is key to the progress than focusing attention towards others.
4. Inclusivity Vs Exclusivity in Policy Formulation
Everyone says that they are doing proper stakeholder consultations, while drafting policies which matters to every single person living or dead in Maldives, but the truth is that these gets drafted in a room which has just 4 to 10 people and some random chats with people whom you know, well that’s not inclusivity, you need to be open, transparent and you need to ask the concerned, if it’s what it is, if it’s what they want, if it’s what is. Need analysis is not just your own, its understanding and validating and its asking the right people, the right question at the right time.
Saying that you would hear everyone and actually doing it is different.
a. Encourage community dialogues while developing the plans and while drafting policies
b. Include Civil Society into the consultation programmes and not just those based in Greater Male’ Region but beyond.
c. Identitfy informal groups, approach and hear them.
5. Criminals are Criminals — Your team or Anyone else [Not such an important point, because if you do the top 4, this would eventually make it in.]
Hope this would be heard!
Regards, Jinan
