Sunday, June 5, 2011

Setting Up Systems

Just a quick, somewhat humorous, post on some things that need to be fixed in Egypt. I know I am a khawaga (foreigner) but I am also half African and married to an African, so I think my comments are fair, and really, my goal is to be helpful. 

Okay, while Egypt is busy democratizing, they should consider improving accountability, increasing transparency, and reducing bureaucracy. A good dose of the "buck stops here," would work wonders for this country. Mind you, I have lived in Kenya, which has caused me to grease some palms to get some "do or die" paperwork, like a birth certificate. (I can say, however, that with the correct bribe, things happen fast in Kenya.)  And, I grew up in New Mexico, which has its own case of the "mananas" and some corruption, to boot. But seriously, in order to democratize Egypt, people need to make sure things work, and work on time!

Non-scientific sample, but I would LOVE IT if readers could contribute their own Egyptian examples.

First example: Okay, the university I work at runs okay, I guess. It is supposedly American, but nowhere close to American in efficiency. Well, I gave the university my daughter's tuition invoice on May 2, 2011 or thereabouts, about one day after I got it. Her tuition is a benefit of my expatriate pay package. Today is June 5th. So one month, many emails, and a few visits to payroll later, they finally paid my daughter's tuition. Meanwhile, all the other cute kids are going to school in a lovely turqouise uniform, while she wears street clothes. I will buy her uniform tomorrow.

When I arrived, my boss told me that the university "specializes in needless bureaucracy." Look,in my opinion, bureaucracy is not all bad, as long as it works. Hey, I am a former bureaucrat myself, and a fan of Weber. Bureaucracy can have its upsides, as it forces people to get organized, and keep files. The trick is to reduce the red tape, and make the systems function smoothly.

Second example: I wrote an opinion piece for a well respected Egyptian daily newspaper. Very good shop, they do great work. But apparently, they could use a little bureaucracy. I wrote the op-ed two months ago. It was published April 4th. Meanwhile, it is now June 5th, and I have not been paid. I went to Garden City today to try to pick up my check, which I was told by the editor should be ready. One hour was spent haggling in Arabic with the guy at the front desk. I haggled, my student got on the phone and haggled, my taxi driver haggled. One hot, sweaty and smoky hour later, I had no check. I finally left, because, amazingly, I have work to do, and I actually try to meet my deadlines. Imagine that!

I spoke to my student and asked him if the people at the newspaper were embarrassed? He said no, because in Egypt, people always try to say that whatever happens is not their fault, it is someone else's fault. Well, gee folks, a little more accountability and transparency, and  Mubarak would not have been able to steal 70 billion dollars. And FYI, I did not make up that figure. See article on Mubarak's riches. Needless to say, if things are this bad in the two private sector examples I have given, I do not even want to deal with the public sector here.


So in the first case, we have too much red tape. In the second case, there is no red tape, but there is also no tape, as it were. Creating a sense of accountability with management systems that function efficiently is a good area to focus on for capacity building in Egypt. This is an area that is ripe for investment by well meaning NGOs and development organizations such as USAID and DFID.

Postscript: June 7, 2011 with regard to my daughter's tuition, things got worse before they got better.  The finance officer at her posh private school failed to communicate with the registrar's office, and the principal sent me a letter asking me for payment, after I had already paid. I was both embarassed, and irate.

Post, post script: June 8, 2011. The principal of the posh private school, who is from New Zealand, did exactly what I asked for in the article. He called me. He apologized for the confusion, and he sent a driver over to my office with original receipts. Kudos!!!

Post, post post script. June 9, 2011. I still have not been paid by the paper. Sigh . . .

9 comments:

  1. It is really serious issue; efficiency, accountability and transparency are the main requirements for Egypt after revolution if the government wants to transform to democracy. The issue is not that easy task as the corruption has been everywhere and it has transformed to a part of many of the Egyptian culture, attitude toward bureaucracy and the public sector. If you talk to any citizen about that issue, you can hear tones of stories about the corruption in bureaucracy, so one of the main mottos after the revolution is to advise the people not to pay any bribe to get service. The question is “how fast the government could achieve this slogan by affecting the citizens’ culture or doing what?” as many analysts have totally different point of view and they asking “Is it a priority? “.

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  2. The case here is not about democracy and Egypt situation. It's about making accountability and responsibility real values for the employees and link it with the vision and mission of the organization practically not theoretically. In my opinion downsizing is needed and also customer service trainings. The organizations need to make their employees learn what is the effective way to delegate tasks.

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  3. Thanks for your comments Shahad and Loving. I agree, efficiency, accountability, and transparency are crucial. I also agree that accountability and responsibility are crucial values for employees. I appreciate your insights.

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  4. For accountability, transparency and efficiency to become crucial values for employees the whole system has to be examined in Egypt. If they continue to pay public employees unrealistic salaries then there is no way they will stop taking bribes. The Finance Minster, Dr. Samir Radwan, recently announced that the minimum wage will be 700 L.E. in the public sector; how can an employee support his family with 700 pounds and not be tempted to take bribes ?!?

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  5. Good point amira. Public sector wages really need to be adjusted. Maybe they can use some of the money Mubarak stole to get that back.

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  6. Well, let me say that we still face corruption and ineffectiveness in everything and let me tell you that I cannot feel that there is a real democracy as people call for,we still in the beginning of the road as it is always being said here. I have seen many people violate the laws make booths on the sidewalks that hinder people from walking and some people take empty spots of the street to rent it as parking for people,very bad.We hope there will be more accountability and strict laws that deter people from violating laws .

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  7. “Efficiency, Accountability, and Transparency”, these three words are not in Egypt, in my point of view. I agree with the student who said, “He said no, because in Egypt, people always try to say that whatever happens is not their fault, it is someone else's fault.” No one is efficient enough in what s/he is doing whether working in a governmental place or a multinational one or providing any sort of services. No one wants to carry the responsibility of what s/he has done. If this is changed and encouraged between all the Egyptians, we might feel the positive effect of the revolution.

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  8. 1- Baqshishi or tips are weird inherited of our local culture. Whenever we get rid of these fatal habits, our minds will be open to change.
    2- I agree with you Amira that wages MUST get raised to enhance the performance, but is money the only way to improve our mentalities and morals?
    3- RESPONSIBILITY is the key answer . when we live in a country that its former president said that after the death of his grandson wasn’t in a good mood to run the country !!! ; we MUST reintroduce the way we consider accountabilities and efficiency

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  9. 1- Baqshishi or tips are weird inherited of our local culture. Whenever we get rid of these fatal habits, our minds will be open to change.
    2- I agree with you Amira that wages MUST get raised to enhance the performance, but is money the only way to improve our mentalities and morals?
    3- RESPONSIBILITY is the key answer . when we live in a country that its former president said that after the death of his grandson wasn’t in a good mood to run the country !!! ; we MUST reintroduce the way we consider accountabilities and efficiency

    ReplyDelete