Over the last few years, the head count of Goa’s bureaucracy has bloated way beyond the norm. With jobs sold and many appointed by political favoritism, it now reflects the poor level of service the public is getting on account of people without merit getting jobs.
With staff merrily coming late to work and cheerfully leaving early besides taking extended lunch breaks it only ensures that the functioning of public institutions is not as it should be.
It is high time the government finds means and ways to ensure that all public offices including the Courts function at optimum levels. Changing the office timings may be a way ahead. Like in the Gulf, timings from 8am to 2pm could be an idea. This would motivate the staff to perform and enable them to reach home for lunch.
Despite crores having been spent to step up e-governance, the end result is still a far cry from decent functionality. There is a need for some radical administrative reforms so that needless extra paperwork is done away with. With the advancement of modern technology, it should be possible to ensure that the public does not have to line up at government offices for anything and everything.
Officials must be more efficient by taking responsibility for their duties with a greater sense of urgency and not push people from pillar to post or send them on a wild goose chase in government offices.
Unless productivity and efficiency improve considerably and urgently it will continue to be a drain on the Exchequer and a continued source of frustration and stress for people who rightly expect a lot better.
