Capacity building of public officials: Challenges of public organizations in Pakistan

Abstract

The sensitivity and importance of public sector organizations in general or the civil service in particular is high, particularly in democratic political environments. Their responsiveness and accountability towards the masses is one of the key requirements in terms of effective and efficient service delivery by all wings of the government. Apart from other factors, the existence of capacity and capacity building plays a vital role in determining success or failure of any public official. For that matter, this study focuses on one aspect of effective service delivery i.e. capacity building of public officials and challenges faced in this regard. A qualitative research strategy has been followed where 33 officers of senior/managerial cadre were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Purposive sampling strategy was used to select the participants of study. The rich data collected were analyzed using a thematic analysis technique. Themes emerging from the data revealed that serious capacity building issues and challenges exist in Pakistan’s public sector owing to several reasons, some of them include lack of structured and service oriented modern programs, lack of the fit between performance and pay, absence of accountability mechanisms and red-tapism involved in Pakistan’s bureaucracy. For that matter, it is the need of the hour that aforementioned factors must be taken into account and the needful shall be done by making changes in the civil service structure through reforms.