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WEEKLY
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| Cabinet cutback |
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Saturday, November 28, 2009
We are told the prime minister is considering cutting the size of his cabinet from over 60 to about half that number, as per advice from the Finance Ministry. Ministers who are asked to quit the cabinet will be accommodated as the heads of various government departments. Criticism of the enormous cabinet, the largest in our history, has come in for months. It should indeed never have been so large in the first place. It is quite unacceptable that in a country as cash-strapped as ours we should have so humungous a cabinet, with so much spent on maintaining ministers in style. Indeed the existence of such a body exposes the irresponsibility of our government and its lack of commitment to the cause of ordinary people. Rather than the interest of the people it is the need to keep cronies happy that has been the dominant feature in the formation of the cabinet and the accommodation of so many within it, quite regardless of merit.
But there are other things which are just as important, if not more so, as size alone. The most important among these is efficiency and the perception that the cabinet is capable of running the affairs of the state. The total lack of conviction that this is the case has had a huge impact on the declining popularity of the government. People everywhere believe their problems have increased and that there has been a grotesque mismanagement of national affairs. As a result the difficulties faced by people have been growing. It is true too that for some of these the cabinet cannot be held solely responsible. We are all aware of the interventions that take place and the manner in which decisions are made. But our body of ministers should stand at the apex of decisions and take initiatives to ensure this is the case. The real challenge for the prime minister then is to create a more effective body. Cutting size could be one step towards this. But just as important is the need to find competence and commitment and creativity so that we get out of the quagmire we stand stranded in.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
