Last Thursday, the State Parliament House held an important convention that challenged our government’s efficiency. This convention was unique in discussing the fundamental changes to be made in order to cultivate good governance and to realistically stimulate Mongolia’s economic and social growth that would create outstanding competitive advantages from neighbouring Russia and China.
In this convention, entitled “Civil Service Innovation, Challenges and Opportunities,” presenters and delegates from various provinces and the countryside showed active participation.
As a representative of civil society and host for a session of the forum on delivering efficient public service to citizens, I had the opportunity to meet with many of them, including guests and representatives such as Ms. Maria Barrados, head of the Canadian Public Service Commission, which is a global role model for good civil governance.
Our goals for rapid economic development can be reached only through an efficient mechanism of public governance, which is yet to be created. Today, our governance is widely criticized for its bureaucracy, corruption and conflicts of interests, which pose a severe limit in meeting the 21st century standard of good governance.
Loophole of the issue
From this convention, it was clear: Mongolian society needs to fundamentally change its perception of and attitude toward the concept of “public service.” We need a paradigm shift in public governance so that we can employ skilled talents, provide efficient, continuous, stable and responsible service that is based on trust to our people.
We have yet to rid ourselves at all levels of our out-dated belief that the government is a superior force placed above us directing our actions, ordering, punishing, threatening, raising its spear with might and majesty to flaunt its strength and muscle before the minuscule individual that is an insignificant creature whose only survival depends on staying close or become a part of this machine.
In developed countries, on the other hand, the government employees understand that their duty is to provide its citizens with the necessary conditions for a free, safe and secure working environment so that the individual may gain income and good living.
There, in contrast to Mongolia, both the citizens and the governments seem to at least acknowledge this basic concept that public service must be fast, fair and transparent.
In Canada, “Civic Service Commission” was renamed in 1967 to “Public Service Commission.” This signalled a change in the government outlook principle and an employee in the government began to no longer work for the government but for its citizens entirely serving the public.
The main function of this organisation is to create and make sure that employees of the government office deliver public service and advance their careers through promotion based on merit independent from political partisanship. Civic organisations of all levels must follow these two fundamental principles.
The “Public Service Commission” does not select and appoint public employees themselves. It does check and make sure that all government organisations follow these two principles and take corrective actions when necessary. Its director reports only to the legislative body or the Parliament directly for evaluation.
Last autumn, the Mongolian and Canadian governments agreed upon mutual cooperation in learning from and employing Canada’s experience and know-how in good governance and public service in Mongolia.
If indeed the Mongolian government could apply Canada’s public governance model, the Mongolian State Service Council would be called “Civic Service Council” and government employees – public servants.
This new name of positions would not be liked and accepted by many current government officials. But it would be the modern and correct culture for good governance that our citizens would naturally demand by that time.
When the title “a public servant” becomes a social norm, Mongolia would be able to put serious limitations on corruption and other currently common unethical phenomena such as “partisanships or being from the same political party or local areas, that are ill-influencing directly or indirectly the employment policies by abusing public office positions”.
At the moment, the Mongolian government must urgently adopt two crucial principles from the Canadian model related to employment and career promotion of public officers because if delayed this culture may not adapt to the Mongolian soil at all. For now, our principles are based only on partisanship, money and relations.
Mongolian state officials look at citizens from an ever-growing high distance to such an extent that it is time for them to use binoculars. State is becoming bigger and powerful. The representatives and their government officials who were nominated by them are serving more for themselves rather than for citizens.
One can easily witness this by the growing size of political party palaces, government buildings including the state palace, surrounded by tall metal fences with pompous ornaments. In aimags, all state administration buildings are already renamed into “Local Administration Palace”.
Our high-ranking state officials have more luxury offices, cars, more foreign trips and even special medical treatments abroad at the public costs, behaving themselves like gods.
Another symbolic case is the national flag. It turned out that they made a special law that defines the flag as state property. In all democratic societies national flag belongs to people and the nation as a whole.
A friend put the national flag in front of the hotel and a policeman demanded to take it down because he has no permission to hang it. It means everyone who puts the flag on their cars during national festivals is a criminal and can be potentially arrested and punished.
Speaking of festivals, Naadam is our national holiday. It is not a political party event because it is hundreds of years older than any party or events related to a political party. If the anniversaries coincide on the same day, celebrations should be separated by content.
There is no spiritual need for everyone to get euphoric from both. The concept of forcing to celebrate this festival comes from the time when we only had one party and pretended to have an election. But this time has passed twenty years ago.
The bell of history is ringing on the government clock to create real public service that really serves its citizens.
Translated by J. Ariunaa