Cronyism, nepotism and favoritism are buzz words (literally or otherwise) within various forums involving Maldivian government employees. We have long suffered a system which has somewhat ignored the elements of meritocracy as determinants of a public servant’s path towards success.

In an ideal democracy backed with an efficient bureaucracy (a perfect example is the Singapore public service), meritocracy is the key factor which determines the progress of a government employee.

“Meritocracy is a system of a government or another organization wherein appointments are made and responsibilities are given based on demonstrated talent and ability (merit), rather than by wealth (plutocracy), family connections (nepotism), class privilege (oligarchy), cronyism, popularity (as in democracy) or other historical determinants of social position and political power. In a meritocracy, society rewards (by wealth, position, and social status) those who demonstrated talent and competence, demonstrated through past actions or by competition”.

Anyone who has seen anything within the Maldivian administration must have noticed the lack of attention to meritocracy and the excessive abuse of all else mentioned above. We have long seen a system where appointments and promotions are based on connections, relationship with people on the top, mere presence within the system (years of service whether productive or otherwise), flattery and ‘sucking up’ to the big bosses. This I’d say is the root cause of an inefficacious civil service today.

Maldivians on average are relatively bright, enthusiastic and meticulous in their work. We have a pretty young civil service with sufficient education to back it up. Yet, we suffer from the inadequacies and friction within the system which de-motivate the very talented within the system due to factors mentioned in the beginning.

We now have a new government, a new constitution, a new civil service, a new administration and a new structure. It is time that we adopt a new policy to recognise and reward talent and nurture them. It is time that we motivate the enthusiasts and penalise or revitalise the inefficient and unproductive.

The first step towards the adoption of a system of meritocracy is to overhaul the long established methods for recruitment, appointment and promotions. We need an effective performance appraisal system within each government organisation which periodically reviews the performance of staff in each department. We need a mission and a vision for each department which must align with the main goal of the organisation. We need to eliminate inefficient staff and reinforce support for the ‘dragging feet’ to push them forward. We need to put aside the selfish use of one’s position and power to push forward an agenda which is does not have the best interest of the citizenry at heart. We need to make that painful switch to a system of meritocracy.

Related posts:

  1. How do we improve our Public Service?
  2. How should we transfer civil servants from Male’ to the provinces?
  3. Is Maldives becoming more corrupt or seeing more of it?
  4. How should Maldives downsize its government?
  5. Maldives, a paradise in trouble.