The indecision on the part of the political authorities, stemming from their basic reluctance to part with the power and control they exercise at present to any newly constituted peripheral units. Some quarters even seriously express the view that there is no real need for any devolution at all! Some others conceive of the District as being the ideal unit of any devolution process. Still others seem convinced that the only practical way out of the impasse is to go on the Provincial Council as the unit, which is already incorporated in the 13th Amendment These appear to be some of the biggest dilemmas political decision makers face currently on the question of the devolution of power to the peripheries.

The risk of the rampant corruption and waste found at present at every conceivable level and resultant harassment and the harrowing delays the general public have to suffer to get even routine official matters attended to, being replicated and even exacerbated following devolution.

The dearth of competent persons, both at the political level as well as the level of public officials, it could be justly surmised, is bound to be a severe drawback on the quality and the standard of governance in any devolved unit. As far as the State machinery for the delivery of public services to the general public islandwide is concerned, it would therefore be in the national interest and, more importantly in the interest of the devolved unit, to continue having the existing State Combined Services viz. the SLAS, SLE (Education)S, SLE (Engineering)S, the Medical Services etc., centrally administered as there would otherwise be severe shortages of trained and experienced personnel to man the devolved units effectively. To starve these units of such experienced personnel would be to seriously hamper their development efforts. These are some of the critical aspects of devolution that deserve the closest attention.

The vital question of financial allocations to the proposed peripheral units, particularly where basic infrastructure is not developed and where a weak natural resource base offers little potential for development, would be a matter of critical importance. To tap the micro development potential of these units, the first priority would be to develop infrastructure in the vital areas of power and transport to enable the economic environment to improve rapidly and in a sustainable manner. This would basically mean the electrification of rural areas, interconnecting provincial roads with rural roads thereby linking hitherto neglected villages to secondary towns and cities enabling the facility of access to urban market centers, schools, State welfare services etc. Historically, this marked unequivalence has been created by cities and urban centers being the privileged beneficiaries over the years, of investment funds in developing the physical and social infrastructure of these selected areas, to the at times total neglect of the economically and socially deprived outlying regions. The underlying principle of devolution is to decentralise and shift the political power base thereby enabling these economic ‘backwaters’ to benefit by their direct involvement in the development process. To work towards this end, an immense amount of carefully planned groundwork needs to be done if the development scenario envisaged is to be realised.

The deteriorating Law and Order situation in the country, which again could be attributed to widespread corruption, indiscipline and the failure of the law enforcement authorities to curb escalating crime and violence, would pose a serious problem in the devolution of central authority to the devolved units. In such a scenario, one could well imagine what would follow if Police powers are suddenly devolved to the sub-national units haphazardly without due cognizance being taken of the need to have in place an integrally cohesive organisational structure, particularly in relation to the management and control of a disciplined service like the Police Service . This is where the Government will have to act with due caution and circumspection in devolving totally the powers laid down in the concurrent list. These are crucial matters that should be examined carefully and resolved consensually in the larger national interest as well as in the regional interest, if the devolutionary arrangement is to be worked out meaningfully and effectively.

The above problems, although fundamentally enervating by their very nature and seemingly intractable, could still be successfully surmounted if the political authorities have the necessary determination and the political resolve to do so.

The unit of devolution and the extent of devolution, are political decisions which will have to be taken with due sagacity and circumspection, taking into account both minority and majority concerns. The principle of devolution and the unit of devolution have been already conceded by the enactment of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. It is therefore now, a fait accompli. The extent of devolution is left now to be determined within a pragmatic and workable framework. To ensure national sovereignty and territorial integrity, it would most certainly be imprudent to confer powers on the proposed unit of devolution, in excess of the powers conferred on State Governments in India, under that Constitution.

Corruption, lethargy and inefficiency may be replicated or even amplified in the devolved units unless effective preventive measures are introduced to check them.

Corruption is so pervasive islandwide today due primarily to the horrible example set by the elected representatives and the political decision makers. Political patronage nurtures and protects official corruption and often there is collusion between dishonest politicians and pliant public servants. Public servants are often rude, arrogant and unhelpful to members of the general public who are compelled to visit State Institutions for certain necessary official transactions. Fortunately, there are a few key Departments, like the Immigration Department and the Motor Traffic Department where work has been streamlined by computerisation of the work. One is indeed pleasantly surprised at the speed with which one is attended to in these two Departments. I think the secret lies in the depersonalisation of the work, which could be achieved through computerisation. It is indeed remarkable, the way efficiency levels have risen in these two State Institutions which had at one time earned quite notoriety, for lethargy, inefficiency and corruption.

A rapid turn-around of the work ethos in sluggish, inefficient and corrupt State Institutions could be achieved by streamlining and speeding up all transactions with the public, wherever possible, by the computerisation of such work. This should be implemented islandwide with the least delay; as it would prepare the ground for the devolved units to function with greater efficiency, resulting from cutting down delays and the minimisation of corruption. This should not necessarily lead to any redundancy of cadres. The workforce should be re­trained to work in the new transformed work environment. This can be easily achieved through short and intensive training courses in IT for these personnel. The initial investment in computer hardware will be covered in ample measure by the rapid speeding up of official tansactions and by the tremendous goodwill that would be forthcoming from the general public. What is required, is the political resolve of the Government and, more importantly, of the political authorities concerned coupled with the abiding commitment of public servants to do their duty conscientiously by the public, whom they are in any case, pledged to serve!

A Public Service Act to cover the Centre as well as the devolved units

A Public Administration based on the tenets of good governance, accountability and ethics, should be subject to the rule of law. The rules and regulations binding public administration should be legally enforceable. One of the important priorities in this regard, would be the enactment of a Public Service Act. A draft of such an Act has already been prepared by the Committee on Public Administration appointed by the OPA. The enactment of such legislation would go a long way in ensuring transparency and accountability in the Public Service which would hold the key to honesty and incorruptibility of Public Servants. The punitive measures laid down in the law against errant public officials, would serve as an effective deterrent, ensuring strict conformity to the rules and regulations laid down. In this respect, the Public Service Acts of India, Singapore, Australia and Malaysia are admirable models of public administration systems we could well follow.

Corruption at the level of political authorities and the introduction of basic legal safeguards for its minimisation and to ensure good governance island- wide.

There is no gainsaying that certain elected representatives of the people have earned notoriety for corrupt practices including the embezzlement of public funds. They have been able to do so with impunity due to the protracted and byzantine procedures that have to be gone through, for them to be finally arraigned before the Bribery Commissioner or the Courts of Law. The Bribery Commissioner should be provided with additional cadres to apprehend corrupt officials, conduct investigations and launch prosecutions. As it is, he suffers from an acute lack of specialised staff even to carry out effectively the work related to the hundreds of cases requiring further action by the Commission. Furthermore, if there are shortcomings in the law which stymie effective action by the Commission and require the enactment of remedial legal measures, these should be attended to urgently by the concerned authorities by bringing in the necessary amendments to the Act.

Constitutional provision should be made for all elected representatives (including Presidents) as well as all State employees to make a declaration of assets at the beginning of each calendar year. Legal provision should also be made enabling any member of the public to obtain copies of such declarations on payment of the sum of Rs. 2000. (This is to discourage frivolous requests). Non-compliance with these legal requirements should carry with it a very heavy fine.

The Bribery Act should be amended enabling Ministers and MPs to be summarily arraigned before the Bribery Commissioner to answer any charges against them. They should be placed on par with public servants and the other citizens of the country. Under the proposed Audit Act all elected representatives of the people should be made accountable for breaches of financial discipline.

There should be provision incorporated in the Constitution in respect of the above three vital safeguards which are deemed crucial to any meaningful efforts directed towards the resuscitation of good governance in this country. This is bound to have a salutary effect on the proposed devolved units.

The necessary prerequisites for social and political stability could be spelt out quite unequivocally, as Law and Order! It is the inescapable duty of the Government to ensure their maintenance at the desired level, thereby living up to the legitimate expectations of the general public.

(The writer is a former Senior Advisor to the President and a retired Additional Secretary to the President)