Fiscal Policy Performance In Financial Management In Jaffna Municipal Council

Introduction of Local Authority

The Local Authorities are responsible for providing services which the law specifically allows them to do. It is required to provide services for the comfort, convenience and wellbeing of the community in respective areas. The Local Authority carries out.

• Regulatory and administrative functions
• Promote public health and sanitation
• Environmental sanitation
• Public thoroughfares and public utility services.

Sri Lanka has a long history of local government and local authority. After introducing the 13th Amendment to the constitution in 1987, Local Government became a devolved subject under the Provincial Councils. Hereafter, the powers to control and supervision of local authority transferred from central government to provincial councils. However, powers relating to the formation, structure and national policy on local government remained with the central government.

The Local Government System consisted of Municipal Councils, Urban Councils, Pradeshiya Sabhas which are govern by three main laws

1. Municipal Councils Ordinance (1947)
2. Urban Councils Ordinance (1939)
3. Pradeshiya Sabhas Act (1987).

Primary Health care services and indigenous medicine: Primary health care, water and sanitation, environmental health with relevant stakeholders (MOH, RDD, RDA, CEA, DDMU, Department of Education, Coastal Conservation, Tourism, Railway etc. ) by providing vehicles/equipment for better service.

Local Water supply: To ensure safe and secure potable water through community water supply systems and managing small scale water supply and distribution mechanism.

Assessment of Rent and rates, regulatory function and collection of taxes and other revenues.

1. Issuing licenses to run business and non-business activities.
2. Collection of entertainment tax, certain sales taxes and taxes on undeveloped lands.
3. Leasing of market spaces owned by Las.
4. Issuing permit for advertisement in public spaces.
5. Charges for parking of vehicle.
6. Issuing permits for subdivision and development of land.
7. Registration in the change of ownership of land and buildings.
8. Collection of vehicle and animal taxes.

Environmental Management

1. Issuance of environmental protection licences and butchers license.
2. Managing waste collection and disposal.
3. Maintenance of burials and cremation grounds.
4. Assuring consumer protection.

Strategic Outcomes and Future Outlook

The five year development plan aims for high community satisfaction in the delivery of local government services. This has been identified by the Ministry of Provincial Councils and Local government as one of the main outcomes that need to be achieved. The main outcome expected to be achieved during the five years are as follows.

1. Effective and efficient functions of Local Authorities
2. Active Peoples’ participation in LA affairs
3. Green and healthy environment
4. Stakeholder satisfaction increased with social and economic infrastructure.

Proposed five-year plan focuses on five thrust areas

1. Organizational development and Institutional strengthening
2. Improved local self – governance
3. Improved social infrastructure and service facilities
4. Integrated leadership and strong development partnership
5. Vibrant micro- growth zone.

Public Sector Productivity

In general terms, “productivity” is a measure of efficiency. It tells how well assets have been used to finish the work. The higher the volume of work created with a given set of resources, the higher the productivity. Productivity is usually defined as production per unit of resource input. Public sector productivity focuses on the efficiency of governmental (that is publicly authorized and funded) agencies and their sub-units.

Public sector productivity as a field is different from private sector productivity, because these agencies operate under significantly different conditions. Private sector output can be measured in terms of their monetary value. In contrast public agencies generally produce services that are not for sale. Actually the major difference is in the method of measuring productivity.

The general feeling among the public is that the public sector is not at all concerned about productivity. Wasting time, material and money is not much of a problem for the public sector. Worse still, is the fact that public sector employees waste not only their time, but the precious time and money of their customers engrossed in bureaucracy – unnecessary administrative tasks, approvals and paper tasks.

Productivity Measurement is vital

Productivity measurement is applicable to any kind of work: purchasing, processing applications for bank loans, road construction, providing healthcare, teaching, issuing motor vehicle licenses, electricity distribution, waste disposal and the entire spectrum of activities. It applies to work units of any size, to agencies at every level of government and every kind of jurisdiction.

Public sector productivity measurement involves computing of the amount of effective (quality) work done by an agency or sub-unit per unit of resource input. Some examples of productivity indicators are the Number of vehicle licenses issued per man-month, number of kilometers of roadway constructed per million rupee investment, etc.

Concerned about the perennial problem of low and unsatisfactory public sector productivity, the President has emphasized the importance of introducing a scheme of productivity/performance evaluation in the public sector. The impending change would not have been welcomed very much by many in the public sector as it would involve a rude awakening from the deep slumber they had been in, but the scheme is now being implemented at least in some sectors of public service. How productivity improvement can be structured is detailed elsewhere in the article.

Improvement

Certain barriers do exist in reality, which hinders quality and productivity improvement in the public sector. Some of these are:

• Laws, statutes, pieces of legislation and administrative and financial regulations and procedures which are outdated and bureaucratic bungling.
• Natural human resistance to change as quality/productivity improvement is a far-reaching change process.
• The current political system in which power is divided among several authorities, sometimes with overlapping duties and frequent changes in the incumbents or elected representatives.
• High degree of politicization of the public service sector over the years – recruitments, promotions and perks are determined more by political patronage than by the suitability of candidates.
• The relative newness of the field of public sector quality and productivity and the vagueness, ambiguity and cynicism attached to it.
• The virtual non-existence of recognition and reward schemes in public service, excepting may be those in the defence services.
• The non-existence of a systematic and structured quality assessment and productivity measurement system in most public sector organisations.
• The absence of a strong work ethic in Sri Lanka in general and in the public sector in particular.
• Somewhat hostile labour management relations, e. g. healthcare and nutrition areas.
• Inadequate education and training provided to manager and employees.

A Strong work ethic essential

Out of all, the non-existence of a strong Sri Lankan work ethic, may be considered the biggest road block to national quality and productivity improvement. As a result, far too many holidays are enjoyed by Sri Lankans than by other citizens of the world strewn across the globe and we keep yearning for more. It is also known that the public sector clearly again, has many more holidays compared to the private sector.

To top it all, absenteeism is rampant and tardiness is the rule more than the exception in Sri Lanka. No one cares about waste in the public sector – waste of time, money, resources, talent and skill. Waste is the very anathema of productivity.

Thus it calls for strong leadership of the government, to set matters right once and for all, though it may be an uphill and trying task, to change the national attitude towards work. It may need a great deal of education, publicity, persuasion, regulation, legislation, and motivation to bring about the desired change and it will not happen overnight. Persistent will and action on the part of the political leadership, and more than anything else, the ability of the leadership to become perfect role models, will certainly pave the way for building a strong work ethic in Sri Lanka in general, and in the public sector in particular.

Conlcusion

All techniques which are employed to improve quality and productivity, whether in the private sector or the public sector, could be thought of as falling into three groups or approaches. These are:

1. Changes in the work process (work process improvement)
2. Change in the employee attitudes and skills (education, training and motivation)
3. Changes in management actions (new management options).

The first approach work-process improvement involves attention to operations and the way how the work is structured and processed. It involves collecting data, charting, analysing and improving processes to minimize waste and improve efficiency. Mapping the processes, re-designing jobs and automating tedious manual operations come under this category.

The second approach involves attention to improving the contribution of employees through education, training and motivation. The objective is in general, to energise the major public sector input namely labour. This approach focuses on extensive education and training, appropriate incentive systems and broad employee involvement and participation. Recognition and reward schemes, employee suggestions, schemes, quality circles, project teams come under this category.

The third approach involves focusing on exploring new management options for meeting client needs in the new era of severe competition and globalisation.

In conclusion, it can be stated that quality/productivity improvement, though not considered seriously by the public sector, is possible in every field and at every level of government. First of all, it is important to be aware of whatever impediments there are now to quality/productivity improvement and then institute action – both short term and long term – to eliminate these. A high degree of labour management cooperation would be indispensable for achieving higher levels of quality and productivity.

Improving effectiveness (quality) of public sector services, involves careful understanding and managing the moments of truth. For this to happen, it is important that the public sector personnel, en masse, personally transform their lifestyles at work to embrace a strong work ethic.

Timeliness of service, accuracy, reliability and courtesy are the prime determinants of a quality service. Absenteeism and tardiness which plagues the public sector life, will have to be totally eradicated. All these aspects will be taken care of in the implementation of organisation wide quality management or Total Quality Management (TQM). Improving efficiency of public service (productivity) involves continuously improving all work and business processes; educating, training and motivation of all levels of public sector employees and adopting new management approaches such as Lean Systems in the public sector. Productivity measurements will be an indispensable element of the performance improvement initiative.

With the head of state showing unwavering personal commitment to national quality and productivity improvement and driving personally, the national development initiative, it seems likely that the way is open for a paradigm shift in public sector quality and productivity improvement in the years ahead to make the new and grand vision for Sri Lanka namely, “Making Sri Lanka the Wonder of Asia, ” a reality. A total cultural transformation of the public sector is an urgent necessity.