Public Interest in Cyprus - Term Paper Example

The Role of National Government and Civil Servants with reference to Equity, Democracy, Efficiency and Public Interest in Cyprus Man by nature is a social being who needs social interactions, but on the process he discovered that he also needs to preserve his life and properties, for being constantly exposed in a group would mean security or threat. He is afraid to loss whatever he has with him and so he created a way which was paved with almost everything that can make his welfare be fully armored and secured, the government. Today, the government’s role has been constantly related with the preservation of one’s life, property or power which concern issues about individual interest as part of public services. As to how the government should maintain its sovereignty and obligation, it must ensure equity, efficiency, democracy and public interest such as for instance; it must be able to give its people their right for a quality and standard education, accessible health opportunities and facilities and good governance as a whole which at some point, must be free from corruption. Corruption may involve cash or economic benefits, power or influence, or even less-tangible interests, and occurs in both government and the private sectors, in free-market and closed economies and in democratic and non-democratic governments and societies (United Nations 2008). In today’s global economic setting, much can be said about the role and tasks of the government for we are entirely into a new shift, from traditional to modern way of governance. Sparapani (2008) commented that the main tasks for the government are allocation of resources, redistribution of income, stabilization of economic activity and promotion of growth and employment. This is based on an economic perspective that applies to modern national economy which the bottom line is to ensure equity, efficiency, democracy and public interest first. In this paper, I will try to expound these four areas in governance and relate them to the government of Cyprus, a country, among any others that has a remarkable and unique history and story to tell in the world. The first practical examples will be based on the e-Government, for this is the latest and a remarkable innovation of governance in our era where technology gets a higher correlation with the advancement of an entire country and individuals living in it. In today’s age of breakthrough technology and advanced information technology (IT) and where almost anything can just be possible right at everybody’s doorsteps, it would no longer be impossible for myriad of information to penetrate just right away into everyone’s home. It is also in this reason that the government should make use of this advantage to the fullest in governing its people while trying to ensure equity, democracy and efficiency at their peak or to the highest level. However, the discourse will not only stop in here. Other more practical and relevant examples will also be cited. As an element of good governance, the role of civil servants is also implied to have given with emphasis in this paper. The national government together with its tasks cannot run by itself if not because of the people and the civil servants that must go work hand in hand to fairly address public interest to the fullest. Government as the fulcrum of development is for the people and it encompasses the whole area of public management and civil services imparted by public servants. Landry (1996) pointed out that the government has power to control individuals that make up a community and this is exercised by a body of persons who were given with the authority of governing. For many years, civil servants in Cyprus have been trying to find for the right, efficient, more democratic, effective and with equity in providing services for the Cypriots’ public interest. It is remarkable that the trend of providing public services momentarily changes as with the time. The effort for public administration reform program is remarkable. It is a process that adjusts itself to address public interest. The Centre for Administrative Innovation in the Euro Mediterranean Region (CAIMED), in its article about “Administrative Reform in the Mediterranean Region, Summary of Cyprus” highlighted some steps involved in the public administration reform program process in Cyprus such as firstly, flexibility and transparency towards privatisation, secondly, decentralisation of powers, tasks and responsibilities being devolved from the central government to District Offices, thirdly, designation of competitive human resource staffs to play a key role in the reform process, fourthly, training of public sector staff and executives to play a central role in the reform process, fifthly, giving of new information and communication technologies as a key step towards change, and finally simplification and streamlining of bureaucratic and certification procedures as cornerstones of the reform process. All of these just prove that the government of Cyprus has been consistent in its goal to provide an efficient, more democratic and a strong presence of equity in addressing public interest. It all started as a plan in which its implementation is a challenging decision to make. It is the step about giving of new information and communication technologies, as part of the public administration reform program of the government of Cyprus that is timely and can be most efficient at some point in today’s era of technological advancement. Efficiency is the primary objective of today’s modern society which is in effect; various ways have been tried out or implemented for public interest in Cyprus. A Strategy for the Information System within the State ICT Plan, has been trying to be perfected by the government of Cyprus since 1998 (CAIMED). At some point, the ICT plan of Cyprus has been upgraded by now and the government had started quite a few steps towards refinement and perfection of the plan. The first e-Government has already been released by the government and is serving the public over Internet. In the latest survey of Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA 2008) about the UN e-Government 2008, it was reported that most governments around the world shifted from traditional government to e-Government in which the bottom line is not only to provide citizen services but for public sector efficiency purposes, improving transparency, and accountability in government functions and allowing for cost savings in government administration. However, as included in this survey’s executive summary, the high demands placed by e-Government on a multitude of foundational pillars which include prerequisites of infrastructure, appropriate policies, capacity development, ICT applications and relevant content that need to be in place to fully implement e-Government services, progress is slow for those governments who have not made the necessary investment to move from e-Government. The full implementation of e-Government in Cyprus is revolutionary. It started out when the government had acted Computerization in 1989 which further lead to the Government Computerization Master Plan in which the vision is to create an efficient and effective public service, which will able to provide high quality services to the public and will no longer take time visiting any government department to obtain public services (ICA International Council for Information Technology in Government Administration 2005). The e-Government is a challenge to be implemented in Cyprus. The government has been working hard on the very basic for everybody’s concern like internet penetration, placing of telecom framework, regulation of internet access and more. Digital literacy and people mindset can also be part of challenges in which the government was trying to work out too (ICA International Council for Information Technology in Government Administration 2005). This also proves that the government has been ensuring equal chance for every Cypriot to make use of the best out of this proposed new system. Here, if we based it on equal distribution of resources or services to Cypriots, the government has actually made a significant move in providing equity for its people. There are many references and materials available about the concept of equity and they all pointed out the same meaning. However, it is interesting to know about it that there can be two kinds of equity in terms of equal distribution of implicit solutions or resources in addressing the needs of the public or as far as the people’s interests are concern. As presented in the PAHOWHO (1999) report, horizontal equity is the allocation of equal or equivalent resources for equal need and the vertical equity is the allocation of different resources for different level of needs. In Cyprus, modernizing the government and making the resources be equally available among the public is an attempt to walk on the path of horizontal equity. On the other hand, issues such as gender equality and sensitivity may fall on the vertical equity where a bit different forms of needs of concerned individuals should be taken into great consideration and be acted upon by the government in a profound approach. Most importantly, an act of providing both horizontal and vertical equity applies not only in Cyprus, but to other related countries putting up a constitution, administrative matters, constitutional matters and more which are actually instruments bound with obligation and power to mandate an individual and also as protection for common popular interest. Talking about equity at some point might sound impossible in the context of Cyprus and its living history. It is a country with serious communal division that hinders fair, workable and respectful political systems (Nelson & Bloom 2004). However, the issue must not only stop in here. The problem has been recognized and so the way for solution-making process must also be able to realize. Nelson and Bloom (2004) presented a Role Playing Simulation in which the task is to design the outline of a constitution for a reunified Cyprus. It is clear in this approach that one of the best efforts that the government of Cyprus together with the European Union can possibly do to ensure equity of a nation with a communal division is to define and recreate a comprehensive constitution that will give assurance of individual welfare or protection. Fortunately, the government of Cyprus has been working hard for this and the good thing is that it has been continuously receiving support from the European Union. I think it is through in this pervasive effort of the government that will start democracy to come out from its shell with stability and be ready to be experienced by the Cypriots. It is through this or at some point, that a constitution or role of law can better enact over its people to control, stabilize and gain collective individual participation. When equity has been serve at its best then so democracy. Authoritarian democracy, neopatrimonial democracy, military-dominated democracy and protodemocracy are just among of the few of hundreds of recognized subtypes of democracy that made its usage entirely not uniform and gave dilemma to scholars (Davis 2005). However, no matter how many available subtypes there are, democracy can still be best associated with the government created by the people in which the power is vested on them and exercised by them through a system involving representative participation. Cyprus is run by the Council of Ministers consisting of the President of the Republic, who is also the Head of the Government and by eleven Ministers at the head of 11 ministries. These are some of the concerned civil servants who are represented by the Cypriots to take the lead and actions on their behalf. On a newly established e-Government system, public servants played an important role in its implementation. The Council of Ministers in Cyprus has overall responsibility for the Information Systems Strategy or the Government Computerisation Plan in which it can approve the overall scope and policies of the strategy and the corresponding amendment to it (ICA International Council for Information Technology in Government Administration 2005). This is just some of the few ways in which the system of representation by the people can elaborately create a systematic flow of service back for the people. The e-Government for efficient public service is just one among of the many ways in which democracy has been placed into a practical and useful application. While equity might have played important role for democracy to form a positive effect, efficiency on the other hand does not necessarily give an assurance of a democracy to turn out well. Democracy and efficiency are by no means mutually exclusive, not easily compatible, for the former tends to demand centralisation, leadership and the imposition of top-down hierarchical structures, while decentralised and participatory structures are inherently slow, inefficient and susceptible to democratic sclerosis (ECPR 2006). It is therefore, the role of government to highly equip its people with all information, promote equal distribution of resources, and encourage participation just to name a few of its responsibilities to effectively promote efficiency and turn it into a positive factor for democracy to take effect. To cite an instance, for e-Government, these mentioned responsibilities might not be too much of a challenge for Cyprus after all. The increase number of mobile usage, internet subscription and households with personal computers in Cyprus can somehow momentarily lessen the burden that can be brought by some noted challenges of e-Government. However, it can be noted that for online availability survey in 2007, Cyprus has made solid gains for the following: fully –online availability (45%) compared to 35% of last years availability, online sophistication (67%), user centricity (8%) and national portal (98%) (Capgemini 2007). This is a positive indication that the e-Government can be competitive in Cyprus over time while the bottom line is to ensure democracy to take effect positively. Over the years that passed, Cyprus today is subject of sophistication and enhancement of the previous strategies and approaches done for public administration so as to ensure that public interest should come first. The idea of public interest, once central to public democratic administration, has re-emerged to challenge the perceived excesses of economic rationalism as the unifying idea of reform (Hess and Adams 1999). It cannot be denied that various government public programs for reforms and strategies were tried out in Cyprus and other future plans will soon to be part of the implementation. Efficiency is a fresh idea that is to be considered as part of today’s adaptation to modern society. Equity is an area of great concern to be harnessed to public governance so as to encourage communal participation. Democracy is a very important concept that should not only exist as an abstract definition however, should be experienced through significant government programs that will promote it while again, the bottom line is to encourage collective participation. These all boil down to the kind and level of public service that the government of Cyprus should give for public interest. As part of the discourse in this paper, it can be observed and it is justifiable that efficiency, equity, democracy and public interest are interrelated concepts. The improvement of one will pave way to the realization of other significant one. Conversely, the failure of the other might contribute to failure in general. And thus, the role of the national government is as complex as it can be thought of. This requires the right man for the job, a genuine and tough public servant who knows the right plan of action. References CAIMED, Report of Cyprus, viewed 17 July 2008, retrieved from Academia-Research database. Capgemini 2006, Outline availability of public services: how is Europe progressing, viewed 20 July2008,. Davis, JW 2005, The fuzzy concept of democracy, viewed 29 July 2008, . Department of Economic and Social Affairs 2008, United nations and e-government survey 2008, United Nation, New York, viewed 21 July 2008, . ECPR 2006, Efficiency versus democracy? Towards new syntheses, viewed 18 July 2008, . Hess, M & Adams, D 1999, ‘National Competition Policy’, NCDS Briefing Paper, no. 3, pp 1-14, viewed 25 July 2008, . ICA International Council for Information Technology in Government Administration 2005, ICA country report 2005: government of Cyprus, viewed 18 July 2008, retrieved from Academia-Research database Landry, P 1996, The theory of government, viewed 18 July 2008, . Nelson, BJ & Bloom, S 2004, Democracy and divisions: a new constitution for Cyprus, viewed 29 July 2008, . PAHOWHO 1999, Principles and basic concepts of equity and health, viewed 28 July 2008, . Sparapani, MVdC 2000, The role of government in modern national economy-an economic approach, George Washington University, Washington DC, viewed 21 July 2008, . United Nation 2008, Global dynamics of corruption, the role of the united nations helping member states build integrity to cut corruption, viewed 20 July 2008, . Read More