Barefoot Bureaucracy

The public sector is routinely pilloried for being inefficient, unresponsive and worse beyond redemption. We at CEC believe that careful nurturance, Training And Capacity Building Programmes can alter this situation and bring about the desired transformation amongst people (both officials and the community) and system alike leading to effective service delivery.

Where should behavioral exploration start? At the top, if that is where the change is incubated, or at the bottom where citizens feel, touch and experience the insufficiencies on a daily basis. The frontline epitomizes the barefoot bureaucracy which is generally bureaucratic in its attitudes and processes but has the potential for change in its shared culture, values and proximity with the citizens.

The task of public management is to deliver development with dignity. Development in this context implies a rejection of the status quo and a quest for change. Therefore, the performance of public management is predicated on triggering and sustaining change movement directed towards higher development levels through ensuring actual delivery of basic services such as water and sanitation.