Administrative reform and political mobility [Archives:2006/965/Opinion]
Prof. Abdulaziz Al-Tarb
I believe that it is time to stop the policy of “self-flogging” and exaggeration in inflating aspects of deficiency. We compare ourselves to those who have overtaken us and made progress because this way that we are used to would not change the reality. We need to be able to discuss our affairs and explore the causes of others' progress ahead of us despite the fact that most of them do not possess elements of progress except the ability to organize their ranks, rationalize spending and control rotation of the work wheel to perform in an efficient manner.
The fact we will do injustice to ourselves if we surrender to some pessimist sayings portraying us as a country with no resources or people lacking talents because the fact is quite the opposite.
Our actual crisis does not lie in availability or unavailability of resources or their deficiency or in the scientific and research renascence, although the importance of resources and keeping pace with scientific advance are undeniable. However, our crisis lies in the continued absence of the ability to achieve permanent discipline at various areas of our work. The evidence of that is that we present in every place in the world the best examples of success in contrary of the miserable image of the public services performance inside Yemen.
Over years of traveling abroad I have had the opportunity to meet hundreds of honorable Yemeni samples in various parts of the world and in different specialties, especially in the business sector. This is an indication that our society needs reconsideration in our administrative organization in order to be capable of accommodating the energies of the innovative and the hard-working simultaneously and to reach the aspired ability to try to catch up with development and make for the years of lacking behind. It is unreasonable that Yemenis abroad succeed with an eye-catching amount and adapt to the seriousness and strictness of the law in those societies but become quite different if they return to the homeland and adapt to our disorganized situations. It is a society where all abide by strict and decisive rules of application of the principles of punishment and reward regardless of emotions, bias and nepotism.
They, for example, do not suffer from what we in our country suffer from – slackness of the administrative apparatus of the state. The reason is that they realize such weakness will automatically lead to diminishing the society's ability to run its affairs and goals of the state in the desired efficiency. They for instance do not recognize at any work site something called surplus labor or losing one working minute of the actual working hours at both government institutions and private sector establishments.
Those societies do not allow the under any circumstances the creation of bureaucratic complications and routine hindrances, as we in Yemen and the Arab countries suffer from, that impede the progress of work and create a melancholic sense among all those dealing with service institutions or seek to obtain licenses to contribute to push forward the wheel of development and investment, that has developed without limitations.
To more frank and clearer, I say in those well-organized societies the principle governing the style of work and dealing is based on the necessity of providing the citizens with necessary information on regulations and instructions of the establishment or the business they go to. The aim of that the lack of information should not be a means for any routine complication hindering interests and make clients suffer. In addition, that policy is important for not preoccupying employees in at any establishment in replying to inquiries and instead those employees would devote their time to their tasks for the realization of the targeted goals with accuracy and discipline. This is actually the real investment of the employee's effort and performance during the working hours, without sessions of chatting and other things inside institutions.
This is what we really need in Yemen more than the political mobility, despite its importance. However, I think the actual political mobility begins with the ability to control the work performance in Yemen. It is the will associated with organization, administration and the salary compatible with work. This will create a transfer translated into simplified and more effective and less cost.
Can this happen in Yemen?
Prof. Abdulaziz Al-Tarb is an economist and a professor in Political Science. He is the head of a number of professional associations, such as the Arab Group for Investment and Development
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[archive-e:965-v:14-y:2006-d:2006-07-20-p:opinion]
