Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday presented his final proposals to Shehbaz Sharif for civil service reforms in Pakistan.
There has been a growing realisation in the top civil and military leadership that the current civil service has failed to live up to the challenges and even interventions like the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) could not do much due to outdated systems.
The premier discussed the proposals with a large number of his cabinet ministers, senior bureaucrats and sector experts.
The prime minister decided to constitute another committee under the chairmanship of the minister for planning to develop recommendations for aligning the civil services with modern-day requirements and improving the civil service structure, according to a press statement issued by his office.
The planning ministry presented recommendations in seven broader areas, starting from recruitment, training, institutional capacity, the specialization and the monetary compensation of the modern civil service.
Compared to the civilian structure, the army’s structure of the service is considered superior and more result oriented. The army’s structure remains a pyramid with 100% being promoted to Major, 64% to Lt Col, 11% to Brigadier and only 5% to Maj Gen, according to the presentation given to the prime minister.
The planning ministry raised seven questions for consideration, which revolved around choosing between rectangular structure and pyramid structure of the civil service.
Other options were to go for outcomes-oriented high quality training and providing mid-career inclusions in the civil service.
Many of the participants of the meeting were inclined to cluster-based recruitment where the individuals will be hired against three broader categories, general, financial sector and information group.
To build the consensus and incorporate the feedback of the meeting, Shehbaz Sharif tasked Ahsan Iqbal to present a final set of recommendations in one month.
The prime minister directed to develop recommendations regarding merit-based recruitment of top talent, development of Key performance indicator-based performance targets for promotions, and improvement of the ACR (Annual Confidential Report) system and suggestions for effective alternatives, according to the press statement.
The recommendations should also include a plan to enhance officers’ capacity through modern technology and systems, he said. He said reforms that aimed to simplify the lives of ordinary citizens and make the civil service more people-friendly were among the top priorities of the government.