Gov't depts wrapped in red tape

By George Davis

The simple request from the manager at the government department was for the eager young officer to craft a media release around the successful court action brought against a man who had breached a longstanding act on the law books.

The instruction was for the release to be no longer than three paragraphs of four or five sentences each. It was to be accompanied by an attachment showing pictures of the evidence which was used by the government department in successfully making its case to the magistrate.

The officer surveyed the court documents provided by the government attorneys and calculated that the release would take no longer than half an hour to draft and submit to his manager for comment.

Given that this was his first week working in the civil service, he was eager to impress and show his boss that his resume and experience made him a natural fit for this job as media officer working out of the Communications Unit.

Based on his tenure in media, he felt he knew precisely what details to include and what others to discard. This, as he regularly tossed out several badly written missives from state-run entities, while working in one of the country's most reputable newsrooms.

Good to go

The officer went to work and within the half-hour was able to email a draft of the release to his manager. Within five minutes the manager responded, instructing only that he rephrase one sentence. Beyond that, it was good to go.

Pleased with himself, he set about having the executive assistant for his unit fax and email the release to various media houses. He was, however, in for a rude awakening.

The assistant told him that the approval of the manager for the unit, of 14 people, was not enough for the release to be sent on an official government letterhead. He was informed that the procedure was that once the manager approved the draft, the release would then have to go upstairs to the director of the division in which the unit fell.

The director would then comment on the draft and return it to him. He would then have to submit that draft to the legal division for comment. Once it passed through there, he would then have to take that draft to the executive director of the government department for final approval before it could be disseminated to the media as an official media release.

The officer was despondent. How could a basic release, communicating the successful prosecution of a lawbreaker in the RM court, need to pass through so many hands before it could be disseminated to the media?

Why did three paragraphs, crafted around 11 sentences, need to be seen by his manager, the division director, the legal team and then the big, powerful executive director himself, before it could leave the department?

AT SNAIL'S PACE

Chastened but hopeful, the officer emailed the draft to the director and asked her secretary to ensure it got priority attention. A day and a half later, it returned to him with zero changes. He then sent it to the legal division and waited another three days before that director obliged him and returned it. Again, without changes.

He sent it to the executive director's office where it sat for three and a half days before it was returned to his inbox. Again, without comment or changes. So eight days after the release was originally drafted, it finally left the department for various media houses.

The experience taught the officer a practical lesson in the crippling effect of bureaucracy on the government's own ability to carry out its mandate of providing good governance. He was amazed that someone as powerful as an executive director needed to see a simple media release before it was sent out.

Was this because he didn't trust the competence of the people paid by the taxpayer to demonstrate such competence? And if a media release could be so delayed by red tape, what the hell happens when a major decision needs to be made?

The officer chuckled. If deliberations over a release took so long, then God help those who had to do business with this department of government.

Selah.

George Davis is a journalist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and george.s.davis@hotmail.com.