institutional reform What​‍​‌‍​‍‌ a dreadful thing to witness! Around four weeks have passed since the fire broke out at PIMS Islamabad that took the lives of four infants at the time. Their deaths in fact, must have caused the families more than a simple loss; these were babies, tiny humans still getting familiar with the world, who should have been so carefully taken care of and not exposed to such a danger. Rules on Paper, Failures in Practice

We do get the report, the inquiry and sometimes punishment. However, in the end, all that comes out of it is a couple of changes to the policies followed up with yet another cycle of bureaucratic activities in the country. There are numerous times one notices how this is done just to make things look better, with no one being actually held accountable. Hence, people are left wondering how it will all end, and even how it could be improved. The problem here, one that is quite difficult to comprehend, is that a very complex system of public administration is allowed to function in such a way that, time and again, it fails to provide even those most basic essentials which every citizen of the country deserves.

We do not blame the staff because they are just the ones working within the system and following its procedures. However, we do not accept that the procedures which are being followed by the different levels of management can lead to situations which put people's lives at risk in some situations such as that of the PIMS fire tragedy. There are rules for procurement of services and goods, keeping the property in good condition, checking attendance, making financial spending, hiring and making approval decisions. However, when the hospital needs working fire-safety equipment, easy emergency exits, safe electrical devices and effective way of疏散vulnerable patients from the premises in emergencies, the whole system which was supposedly made to bring order to such matters, fails to achieve its primary objectives, i.e., safety of people, especially vulnerable ones, which, in this case, meant children.

Our system has got the bureaucratic contradiction: we usually put more stress on controlling the procedures while the results are being managed only with less effort. This tragic fire incident at PIMS must lead everyone to question very seriously what effective management really is. Yes accountability plays a major role in management, but accountability isn't merely blaming a person after a lot of deaths and loss of lives is done.

A genuine form of accountability is when one person is actually held responsible by someone before the disaster occurs. Someone is in constant contact with risk assessment. Someone is there who checks regularly if the fire systems work and the emergency exit is accessible and safe, etc. Also, Someone must know the procedures to address weaknesses, must not only have the authority to fix them but know full well that leaving them unchecked and letting a disaster happen will carry consequences of their action which should be known to them and hence not being taken for granted.

Still, our establishments usually do just the one thing, they centralize a particular group of tasks to a department. On the other hand, responsibility is given to so many individuals that nobody can be pointed out clearly at. Numerous of them can hinder, but surprisingly few are solely responsible for making sure that the whole operation runs smoothly and to the best of its capacity. Good management will be quite opposed to their approach. Instead, they will delegate authority and allow the professionals to perform the best possible without micromanagement. At the end, they still have systems for results monitoring. Trust shouldn't be a free cover to the ones who do not do much but be held accountable as usual. The government management must also be evidence-based to a greater extent. institutional reform

In a large number of public institutions, decisions for transfers, contracts, and promotions can be affected by family ties, political pressure or other non-official reasons.

Once it becomes the case that merit plays the key role for everything and that is just a starting point, then, the overall effectiveness of the institutions will gradually diminish. A hospital will be in a modern location and be equipped with the latest technology but, no matter how advanced the machines are, they are only as safe as the people who use, maintain and watch over them.

In the case of public departments, on-going awareness must be the norm; identifying potential risks in and around the premises and making sure their risk management strategies and practices adapt themselves to changing environmental factors. Over time, power lines age. Buildings need regular repair and maintenance. Technical systems update and improve continuously. A new machine might bring out new safety hazards. institutional reform

So, if public agencies do not continuously watch for such risks and make necessary amendments to the policy of their operations, then it is highly likely that a disaster will be on the ​‍​‌‍​‍‌way.

In​‍​‌‍​‍‌ Pakistan, there is a growing demand for an administrative culture where officers do not just inquire about "Have we遵守 the rules?". Besides that, they need to ask "Is the whole process running properly?" This kind of distinction is pretty significant. A process is not simply a list of parts; those parts should be working well together to reach the final outcome.

A fire-safety certificate may be filed. The important thing is if the alarm is actually operational at 6:45 am. Emergency procedures have been properly documented, but have the staff trained properly? When smoke comes out of a nursery, are they prepared? Maintenance funds have been authorized - but have we done a real inspection of the dangerous machine and repair it? Pakistan became so good at forming investigative committees but failed to change them from just failures to lessons. The lesson has been lost in the next tragedy when everyone is back talking about the previous one. institutional reform

Learning from mistakes is essential if an organization wants to avoid the same ones repeatedly, and one of the major reasons public administration failure still remains a problem in Pakistan is that very ​‍​‌‍​‍‌thing. institutional reform