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Mutualisation of Public services

Published Time: September 14, 2019, 12:24 am
Updated Time: September 14, 2019 at 12:24 am

M S Siddiqui writes for DOT

Government managed public services and often citizen express their dissatisfactions.
The recent break-out of Dengue and management is under criticism for failure of the
different authorities despite sincere desire of the policy makers. This is a major
challenge for the government.

Citizen believed that inefficiency and corruption are symbol of their service along with
limited resources in short term and increasing demands for services demanded by the
changing society is long term challenges since both fund and innovative services are
not available with government departments. Government employees are unable to cope
with technological change and trying to render obsolete traditional forms of service
delivery.

Unfortunately, government is unable to provide many things, even some basic needs of
life, guaranteed by the constitution. In contrast, government developed Dhanmondi,
Gulshan, Baridhara, Purbachol etc residential areas by evicting poor people and
acquiring their land by paying them a very low price. It developed the land and sold it to
the privileged class at a throw away price. The Government sells land for Tk 10 million,
while the actual price of the land is Tk 100 million per decimal. On the other hand, the
donors, NGOs and service clubs are building shelters for poor people at remote areas in
the country with funds raised from the donation of members and overseas donors.

These organisations also have partnership with governments in different countries for
such activities. The donors are shifting their eye on Non government organization
(NGO) to divert their technology and funds due to corruption, inefficiency and orthodox
mentality of bureaucracy and policy makers.

There is a long history of social services from the dawn of civilization. Many people are
remembered for their philanthropy. Many services are hard to get from the government
and are beyond the means of individuals. Philanthropists, ready to sacrifice personal
wealth and time and comfort for the welfare of humanity, provide these services. Kind
people take the seriously ill people to the hospital, help poor people construct their
shattered homes after natural calamities or campaign for creating awareness to avoid
disaster, or provide free-education to under privileged people. The service to promote
education, health care, environment and other facilities to improve the life of the
common people are suppose to be part of government services. The role of
philanthropy became to add to basic state services and to provide a cutting edge of
innovation in service development. One of the remarkable example of philanthropy of
Nowab of Dhaka for funding the water and sanitary system of Dhaka city.

There are many trusts, Wakf estates and foundations regulated under different laws of
the countries for bridging the gap between availability of services from the governments
and the demand of the citizens. The donors in the developed countries prefer non-
government organisations and service clubs to deliver services to the needy because of
allegations of corruption in government and bureaucracy of the developing countries.

The government service sectors like water, sanitation, energy, medical service etc are
managed under financial and technological assistance from donors. Overseas donors
have changes their strategy to channelize their fund through NGOs. Now-a-days,
governments of developing countries now forced to explore and consider the role of
independent providers, including the community sector, and social and private
enterprises, to share in public service delivery as potential areas for reform. The NGOs
in Bangladesh are engaged in diverse activities-the same NGO may be involved in
multiple areas of operation include education, health, family planning, environment,
human rights, women and children welfare, among others.
There is another alternate combine effort to provide service to citizen by government,
citizens, NGOs, private companies in an organized manners is known as public service
mutualisation.

Any alternate idea is emerging from a different set of social and economic pressures,
including loss of trust in political and social institutions, democratic deficits and low
levels of political and social participation. The rising social and economic needs with an
increasingly unequal society experiencing gradual withdrawal of the state from public
service delivery and replacement by private sector and other forms of association or
mutuals.

Free market has tactics to achieve targets or the indiscriminate application of market
mechanisms but the emerging private sector are also at one stage dominate the sector
and hardly consider the need of the citizens. As a result, mutuals – with their inherent
capacity, through democratic legitimation and voice, to address the problems of
accountability and power – are understood to be fruitful mechanisms for producing
public services in new ways.

This may also be termed as social enterprise partly because the concept is generally
used to depict a wide range of very different organizations – including charities, service
recipients, and private firms that are seeking to deliver social goods. Generally, though,
social enterprises refer to businesses that have a social purpose, rather than relating to
any particular corporate form or style of ownership. The widely discussed social
business also some kind of public service mutualisation.

These are owned by service recipients, salaried staffs, government etc. The model may
be a particular mutual model in which employees have a stake along with one or more
partner organizations. This can com¬bine the improved productivity associated with
stakeholders ownership with additional expertise and capital investment.

These identical hybrid model – of being owned by ‘members’ who represent all
‘stakeholder interests’ – is the corporate form adopted for example by Gono Shastha
Kendro, Sustho Shastha Kendro (DSK) or Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. The
Sanitation services of DSK at city slum areas are already appreciated by government
and donors. DSK use to buy water from WASA and supply to the poors living in basties.
The mutual enterprises give communities more powers to decide the policy,
encouraging people to take an active role in their communities. It can successfully
transfer power from central to local government and support the mutuals to become
more engaged in the delivery of public service.
Bangladesh is in transition to handover the responsibilities of production and distribution
of services to the private sector. NGOs also taking over some of the responsibilities in
own fashion with the help of foreign donors. These transfers are mostly donor driven.
The developed world is not only depending upon private sector and involving all
stakeholders in service sectors.
The government employees may oppose the idea due to fear of losing authority over the
service. Indeed staffs are extremely concerned it would not only lead to worse terms
and conditions for themselves. At the stage, Bangladesh needs legislative, policy and
regulatory changes pave the way for public service mutualisaton taking the experience
of developed world in consideration. NGOs in Bangladesh also should get ready to
takeover more responsibly.

The writer is a Legal Economist

e-mail: mssiddiqui2035@gmail.com