Presentation on the
National Commission for
Government Reforms
1
To the Caretaker
Prime Minister of Pakistan
by
Dr. Ishrat Husain
December, 2007
2
CONTENTS
 Objective of Reforms
 Scope of Reforms
 Methodology
 Progress
3
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,
4
 the processes, procedures and rules of
business through which the government
operates.
 the
cadre,
pertaining
composition
to
human
and
policies
resource
deployment and development including a
proposal for the evaluation of the future
Civil Service Structure.
5
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:
6
 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.
7
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.
8
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
9
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.
10
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. 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
11
accountabilities.
BUSINESS PROCESS
REENGINEERING (BPR)
 The BPR review will use modern technology
to
facilitate
accessing
the
ordinary
government
agencies for
citizens
departments
in
and
obtaining relief from their
problems or grievances in ways that are
transparent,
judicious
and
not
time
consuming.
12
 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.
13
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.
14
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.
15
COMPOSITION
The Commission consists of a Chairman,
seven private sector members and three exofficio government members.
16
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.
17
 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.
18
 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 reopened 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 subcommittee summaries on the issues pertaining
to the reform of the government.
19
 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.
20
PROGRESS
Total Numbers of
NCGR Meetings held
VENUE
Islamabad
Lahore
Karachi
Peshawar
Quetta
= 11
=5
=1
=2
=2
=1
21
Steering Committee
Meetings
Date
Venue
5th Sep, 2006
Aiwan-e-Sadr,
Islamabad
4th Aug, 2007
Camp Office,
Rawalpindi
22
Recommendations approved by
SC and in the implementation
stage
 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).
23
Proposals approved by NCGR
but yet to be placed
before SC for decision

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
24
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.
25

Introducing E-Government

Esta-Code

Financial Rules

Delegation of Powers

Service Standards & Timelines for Citizen
requests

Land Revenue
26
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
27
28