Past few days with the entire political drama unfolding caught everyone’s interest. Similar to watching a Bollywood drama unfold before our very eyes. The Ministers were transported from one state to another by private jets, and there were complaints from both sides.
Throughout the day, I heard people expressing their opinions on the matter—some said it was good, others said it was bad, and some just listened to the whole discussion but said it didn’t matter because they would all become friends in the end. Something didn’t sit well at the back of my thoughts, my gut felt uneasy. While ministers travel in private jets, we have people who aren’t getting enough to eat and streets where there isn’t enough room to walk. They enjoy special privileges everywhere else and on roads. Ministers are public servants who represent the people and are elected by the masses. But today’s ministers remind me of the jagirdars / Zamindars of yesterday. You can see how powerful jagirdars were if you watch an old Bollywood movie. Everyone was afraid to oppose them, and no one dared mess with them. And if you did, you might end up in jail. Which made me wonder if this is how democracy was conceived by our ancestors. What if there was a better way.. so I went on dreaming for an alternate system of Public governance. There’s nothing here… New Political system – Innocent dream version.
1. The term “minister” will no longer exist. They will now be referred to as officers of the Public Service (PSO). 2. There will be no state or center. Only PSOs (the selection of PSOs will be discussed separately) 3. Senior PSO and Department PSO will be the names given to the chief minister and cabinet ministers. 4. Officers in the public service will not have access to transportation, housing, or security, but they will receive the highest salary compared to that of corporate senior management. a. This is because once a member is elected, he escapes the challenges of public life. Doesn’t understand how high rents are, driving a car can be expensive, also no footpaths to walk on, public transport system is difficult etc. But once you are still in system with no expectation of special treat or not getting VVIP treatment then your head will automatically work on solving the problems for the long term
b. Imagine being a PSO and having to look for a place to live in a rental. The challenges they could face, which will allow them to include them in framing public policy. From standing in queue for agreement registration, paying the agents money to help because nobody knows what the procedure is.. etc etc
c. If you want to drive yourself or keep a driver, you’ll have to buy a car. This will help you understand the cost of gas, the quality of the road, the salary of the driver, traffic on the roads, walking on footpaths, and other issues. As a PSO, you’ll also be in sync with your thoughts and in charge of making a policy. d. Same for food – unless you buy your own food from the bazaar how will you think on the conditions and hardships of bhajiwalas and quality of food you get. Hello, mandis digitization! e. Security is given to people with “Power,” and in this system, service officers aren’t above the public in rank, so they can’t make any decisions for themselves. They all frame policies together as part of their job which gets discussed with the higher rank PSOs based on experience, hence no need to safeguard anyone.
f. They all pay their own water, electricity, mobile, and internet bills. Just like anyone else. Not to say the ones today don’t, but no perks are being offered in this new system is what I meant to say. I’m only talking about how it ought to look in the new system. Moving on to the selection of PSOs: 1. No education qualification required, no age bar, no sex preference
2. Selection process will select people to do the lowest level of work. For entry-level positions like interns, salaries will be comparable to those in the industry. 3. Govt department will be divided into – Vision, planning and execution
4. This will be a 5 year rotation program across all departments of the govt. Workshops on execution and training will be offered, as well as lectures. They will learn on each for a year. Finally at end of first 3 years – they would have gained knowledge on vision setting of the area they live in, then the state and the country as a whole. Learn how to plan and carry it out, the obstacles that may arise, and then carry it out yourself. They will start first year in execution, second year in planning and finally in Vision setting.
5. Along with learning these 3 components – they will also be trained on developing their emotional quotient, basic math, accounting and 3 other subjects of their interests (electives)
6. In the 4th year, they will be transferred to a completely different location to be a part of those teams and will be judged on their integration skills, cross functional skills