1 Presentation on the National Commission for Government Reforms

2 To the Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan by Dr. Ishrat Husain December, 2007

3  Objective of Reforms  Scope of Reforms  Methodology  Progress CONTENTS

4 OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE The objective of the National Commission on Government Reforms (NCGR) is to recommend  the appropriate size, structure, division of work and responsibilities within and across the various tiers of the government and within each functional unit i.e. the ministry or department,

5   the processes, procedures and rules of business through which the government operates.   the cadre, composition and policies pertaining to human resource deployment and development including a proposal for the evaluation of the future Civil Service Structure.

6 SCOPE OF REFORMS Government reform has to be comprehensive, concurrent and coordinated as partial, isolated and ad-hoc efforts will not produce the synergy required to achieve the desired results. The scope of work of the Commission has been:

7   Federal, Provincial and Local Governments.   Organization of the three tiers of government and horizontal relationships within and across these tiers.   Internal structure of each Ministry and department and the hierarchical relationships governing the structure, composition, cadre and HR policies.   Size and composition of the Civil Services, at all levels of government.

8  Business processes including rules of business, financial, administrative, establishment rules and regulations, and flow of work.  Replacement of manual by automated processes, thus ensuring greater transparency.  Identification of certain areas requiring immediate reforms like Health, Education, Police & Land Revenue Management.

9 CIVIL SERVICE REFORM The reforms of the Civil Services are aimed at making the Federation strong and promote national integration leading to improved service delivery and cover the whole value chain from:  Recruitment and Induction  Post-Induction Training  Career Path Planning and Progression  Performance Management  Training and Development  Compensation and Benefits  Discipline and Code of Ethics  Severance  Retirement and Benefits

10 STRUCTURE OF THE GOVERNMENT  The aim of the restructuring of the Government is to reduce the transaction cost, promote a culture of decision making and problem solving with fully defined accountability for results. Progress: i.The Commission has completed the review and made recommendations on the existing structure and organization of the Federal Government.

11 ii. ii.The proposals on the re-organization of the Provincial and Local Governments and their intra and inter-relationships are being prepared by the Provincial Governments. iii. iii.The internal structure of each ministry, including the continued justification of the attached departments, autonomous bodies has been examined and proposals for mergers etc. have been made. The new structure proposes that policy making, monitoring and evaluation, oversight functions are located in the ministry while the operational and regulatory functions of the Government are delegated to the executive departments, autonomous bodies and regulatory agencies with clear delineation of responsibilities and accountabilities.

12 BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING (BPR)  The BPR review will use modern technology to facilitate the ordinary citizens in accessing government departments and agencies for obtaining relief from their problems or grievances in ways that are transparent, judicious and not time consuming.

13  This will involve: a. Review and simplification of existing rules and regulations, their availability on the web pages and their interpretations and applications to be in the public knowledge. Progress: Establishment rules and regulations have been consolidated and brought together under an updated Establishment Manual.

14 b. Delegation of adequate powers to the staff who come in contact with the ordinary citizens with their full monitoring and accountability. Progress: The Ministry of Finance has introduced a new system of financial controls under which Chief Finance and Accounts Officers will be appointed to assist the Secretaries of the Divisions in financial management.

15 c. Increased use of technology to ensure that a lot of forms, returns, reports required by the Govt. can be filled in and submitted electronically. Progress: E-Government Directorate has prepared a plan of introducing E-office suite for each Ministry which needs the approval of the Cabinet.

16 The Commission consists of a Chairman, seven private sector members and three ex- officio government members. COMPOSITION

17 METHODOLOGY   The supervision, oversight and guidance of the Commission resides in a Steering Committee (SC) co-chaired by the President of Pakistan and Prime Minister of Pakistan and consisting of the four Provincial Chief Ministers.   SC is responsible for approving the recommendations of the NCGR and monitoring their implementation.   The SC can refer the matters to the Federal or Provincial Cabinets for soliciting their views before it decides but a time limit will be given in each case.

18  The Commission forms various sub-committees and co-opts other members from the existing and retired civil servants, private sector, academia etc.  The Commission has been holding open public hearings at different places in Pakistan and invites experts to testify and make suggestions. Members of general public are also encouraged to submit oral or written views and comments. Consultations with stakeholders and consensus building is the recurring theme of the Commission’s work throughout the process.

19  The Commission submits its findings and recommendations to the SC for its consideration and approval. The decisions taken by the SC are final and cannot be re- opened by any other executive body except those under the purview of the legislature or acted upon by the judiciary.  The Commission has access to all published and unpublished reports, studies, analyses, memoranda, diagnosis, Cabinet and its sub- committee summaries on the issues pertaining to the reform of the government.

20  These studies and reports are received by the Commission in the first instance to formulate its views on the practical, pragmatic and implementable recommendations made in these reports.  This allows the Commission to tap on the vast reservoir of the work that has already been carried out and avoid repetition, duplication and save time. Action required: The Provincial Governments were requested to pass resolutions by their assemblies authorizing the Federal Government to issue a legal instrument whereby the NCGR is established. The previous Chief Ministers had agreed to this proposal but no action was taken. The decisions of the SC will lack enforcement unless legal cover is provided to NCGR.

21 Total Numbers of NCGR Meetings held = 11 VENUE  Islamabad=5  Lahore=1  Karachi=2  Peshawar=2  Quetta=1 PROGRESS

22 Date Venue 5 th Sep, 2006 Aiwan-e-Sadr, Islamabad 4 th Aug, 2007 Camp Office, Rawalpindi Steering Committee Meetings

23  Open, Transparent, Equality and Merit Based Recruitment  Training Strategy for Civil Servants  Governance Reforms in Education Sector  Strengthening of Key Institutions of Governance” (selection process of Chief Executives in Public Sector). Recommendations approved by SC and in the implementation stage

24   Empowerment of Secretaries   Security of Tenure   Re-organization of Structure of Federal Government   Streamlining Rules and procedures   Restructuring the Civil Service i) Civil Service of Pakistan ii) Creation of N.E.S iii) Creation of District Service   Health Sector Reforms   Police Reforms Proposals approved by NCGR but yet to be placed before SC for decision

25 PROPOSALS UNDER PROCESS  Re-organization of Provincial Governments.  Re-organization of District Governments.  Performance Appraisal.  Promotion & Career Progression.  Compensation & Benefits.  Conduct, Discipline, Severance and Separation.

26  Introducing E-Government  Esta-Code  Financial Rules  Delegation of Powers  Service Standards & Timelines for Citizen requests  Land Revenue

27 REFORMS OF SELECTED KEY INSTITUTIONS – UNDER PROCESS  Federal Board of Revenue  Pakistan Agriculture Research Council  Scientific Research and Development Org.  Supreme Audit Institution  Civil Aviation Authority  National Highway Authority  Ministry of Health

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