There is no doubt that the yahapalana government failed miserably to govern; good or bad. The Entire state apparatus became dysfunctional.

Many promises by the yahapalana mandate, in relation to an independent and vibrant public service were ignored, forgotten or forsaken. The promise of bringing to justice those officials who, with their former political masters, had engaged in humongous robbing of national wealth not only escaped justice but became inner circle of the officialdom of the government, making a mockery of the determination of those people who voted the government in.   

The new President has set about restarting the State apparatus as well as kick starting the national economy in a way he believes best. Stamping his authority on all aspects of governance, he said on Monday that a good state apparatus mainly represented by the public service is a must for future progress. We agree whole-heartedly. He said this addressing the newly appointed State Ministries Secretaries at the Presidential Secretariat and going from what he said, his intentions were clear. Having a public sector that is around 1/7th of the entire working force is no easy going when most of the gains expected are not short or middle term but long term. In a headlong drive for development which the country needs right now, such a vast public service, dependent on the tax payers money and not yielding immediate results in terms of contribution to the national economy, is a burden, whether one likes to admit or not. 

Weaknesses 

During the yahapalana government, the public service was in doldrums; with a hybrid government that was pulling the rope in opposite directions and with no one to stamp the authority on public servants in getting the work done. There were ministries where the Minister was at loggerheads with the Deputy Minister and their differences of opinion became subject of public knowledge through media. Secretaries in such ministries were at a loss as to what course of action was to be taken and whose orders to be obeyed. The lesser servants of these institutions simply bid their time without any fruitful work.   

To make matters worse the indictments and imprisonments as well as allegations aimed at public officials of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government did not encourage the others to take initiatives and get down to work. It was more a game of saving their skin without being accused or ending up in jail. Although it is absolutely commendable that those corrupt officials who have embezzled public funds should be taken to book and punished, it should not have appeared that such action was based on personal vengeance or as a result of political allegiance with former rulers. 

Family rule 

If that was the case with yahapalanaya, what preceded it , during the ten year rule of current Presidents elder siblings rule was much worse. The entire state apparatus including the civil service was used as a means of gratifying and glorifying the rulers and their henchmen. Systems, procedures, regulations and protocols were conveniently brushed aside and nepotism and personal favours became the order of the day in terms of the machinations of public institutions. The whim and the fancy of the President, his family or the inner circle became the law and the rule and ultimately , as it turned out, good public servants like Lalith Weeratunge, the former Secretary to the President had to pay the price.   

If our President Gotabaya Rajapaksa intends to carry out what he declared i.e. revamp and revive the state institutions it would be important for him to avoid the mistakes of the yahapalana as well as Mahinda Rajapaksa government that preceded his. Being one of the very top officers of that regime in the capacity of Secretary of Defence he must be acutely aware of those weaknesses and should be better placed than most , to address them. 

Inherent maladies 

Although much of the maladies that ail the public sector are attributed to the political authority, that is not the entire story. Any citizen who has to go to any public state institution would witness to the state of our public service today. The inertia, inefficiency, lack of integrity as well as incompetence are maladies that have now taken root among government institutions and public servants need to rid themselves of these vices that are hampering any effort to revitalize this important sector of national life.   

A colonial mentality that Public servants are above the normal citizenry still exists in the minds of many government servants although in reality many other sectors have now over taken it in terms of the return to the national economy and in term of efficiency. For example those labourers and housemaids who shed their sweat and blood in foreign lands such as the Middle East, Korea and Italy, do contribute vastly to our national revenue and ask very little in return for their hard work. As the President emphasized, an attitudinal change is the first and foremost requirement if we are to bring the public sector in to a place where it could contribute to the national cause and win back the regard in the eyes of the public. 

Techno innovation 

Another aspect that the President emphasized was the need to familiarize public servants to the technological advances that are at our disposal. Although there have been some measures taken by previous governments to introduce high tech to these institutions, the expected results have not come about partly due to the awkwardness of those officials who are handling them as well as due to the lack of familiarity of the citizens who are expected to receive the benefits from such innovations.   

There is talk now of many of the public sector positions, specially, in the middle and high level, being opened up for those who have the skills and the qualifications so that new and young blood could be injected to this inert and ailing sector. While this is a welcome move, it should not be done or seemed to be on a basis of political favouritism such as was the case in the past.   
The perception of seeing a job in the government service as a means of securing a stable monthly income plus a pension after retirement with some regard in society without much hard work has to be thrown out. Our civil service, one of the best in the entire world when the British left our shores, needs to be lifted up to those glory days. It cannot be done by the will or the order of the President or the Cabinet alone. It takes a much broader participation including the public servants, politicians, intelligentsia the general public etc.   

We should not forget that it is the taxpayer who maintains the public service. It is they who foot the bill for the salaries, perks, vehicles, foreign tours and such other privileges that public officials enjoy. It is regrettable that the latter have not been able to repay the public, whom they are supposed to serve, to the extent that they receive. It is high time that they got down to work!