Africa-Press – Namibia. JB TJIVIKUA
THE BUZZWORD THIS year is ‘reimaging’, hence it is appropriate to reflect on this topic. This narrative mainly focuses on reimaging public service in the face of the devastating Covid-19 pandemic in order to preempt similar crises or events and to bring about appropriate government reform.
While the pandemic poses serious challenges for countries and governments globally, it also provides opportunities which, if taken, could create much-needed reforms for our public service.
The central role of the public sector in response to the crisis is a chance to recast the relationship between the government and the people. The key is a reimagining, revaluing and reforming of public service – what it is and how it is delivered.
Public service is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be made available to all regardless of income, physical ability or mental acuity. It is therefore imperative that critical decisions should primarily be made against the backdrop of the existential threat of this pandemic to create reforms key to reimagining Namibia’s public service.
When Covid-19 was reported to the World Health Organisation on 31 December 2019, the implications were beyond a scale most of us could have imagined.
In most countries, including Namibia, governments responded at a pace not seen before. However, they also struggled and still continue to deal with the scale of the challenge which impacted almost every aspect of public service. The economic downturn has decimated government revenue, while the demand for services has soared.
Key questions remain unanswered: How long will this pandemic last? And how long will it take us to recover?
It is not just a question of recovery and returning to normal. The government is going to have to reimagine how it will deliver public services to deal with the consequences, while also dealing with a myriad global and domestic challenges.
A GLIMPSE OF WHAT COULD BE
Admittedly, public service has been revalued. Citizens and businesses now understand the value of an effective public service able to respond to such major crises. With meager resources, things that couldn’t be done got done, and some public servants found themselves unexpectedly being seen as national heroes.
Basically, the public sector has been the focal point in the fight against this virus. It mandated lockdowns and social distancing, set up temporary hospitals and testing facilities, and worked with industry to deliver the necessary testing and medical equipment. In the same vein, the government has been seen to act decisively and belied the stereotype of a slow-moving bureaucracy. It waived regulations, enacted new legislation and convened a network of specialists, scientists, doctors, businesses and universities to help manage the pandemic.
Remote and other flexible work models, previously treated with caution by governments, businesses and organisations, are now seen as holding far-reaching benefits.
The case for the digital delivery of public service has been made and will be crucial during future crises. Digital services will need to expand as we move into the recovery phase; data analytics and simulations will be important in targeting likely problems before they erupt and shift the focus from clean-up to prevention.
As the multifaceted crisis hopefully recedes, our leaders must work to retain the socially collaborative spirit that emerged. The self-interest of different players might have been put aside during the crisis, but during the recovery, political considerations and different interests will emerge.
Trust and confidence will be the most essential elements to recovery. It will not be easy.
CAN GOVT SEIZE THE MOMENT?
Covid-19 is a trigger that evidently will fundamentally change and reform governmental approaches. Our government will have to reimagine how it can deliver public policies to enable it to manage future crises and national priorities.
The government also has to be explicitly strategic. It has to play an outsized role in helping the economy recover, transforming public service, and providing protection against future crises.
It must build much more active industrial policies, including financial support for businesses and SMEs in the short term, and long-term strategic supply chain resilience and security in areas such as medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, food, resources and infrastructure.
In addition, the government must seek to become anticipatory, building deeper capabilities in predicting and modelling future crises, including predictive analytics to support everything from health surveillance to better understanding policy impacts.
The government must drive integration and partnership across all sectors of the public service: The flexibility, cooperation and synergy demonstrated during Covid-19 by business, industry and NGOs, must be leveraged for the future.
The multiplicity and complexity of issues to be addressed by the government are enormous.
A highly strategic, integrated approach is required to drive recovery and future resilience for Namibia.
Reimagining strategic planning requires preparing for the unexpected, even when the road ahead is not clear. Bold actions require bold thinking. That means reimagining the most fundamental tools at our disposal and adapting them to better our society’s evolving needs.
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