Afghanistan: Beijing is smiling — for now

 Amid the chaos and confusion – now a deadly blast – that has surrounded the hurried withdrawal from Afghanistan there has been undisguised satisfaction in Beijing at what it sees as a humiliation for its rivals in the democratic West.

Unlike the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and other partners in the botched nation-building experiment, China will maintain its embassy in Kabul (as will Russia) while the nation’s media says Chinese authorities are reportedly “looking forward” to strengthening ties with Afghanistan and working with the new Taliban rulers.

There is no doubt the Chinese leadership sees a golden chance to extend its influence in an area dominated by the United States and its allies since the early years of this century, but if recent events are any judge, it is in for some unpleasant surprises.

China has already infiltrated neighbouring Pakistan, a key link in its ambitious One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, but while its activities there have been overshadowed by the rapid disintegration of the Western-back Afghan Government, it has been far from easy going.

In July 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals, were killed when a suicide blast sent a bus plunging into a ravine in the remote northern region of the country.

The bus was carrying Chinese engineers to the site of the Dasu hydroelectric project, a key OBOR investment, and Pakistani authorities later blamed the attack on the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan group.

Then, just a few days ago, a suicide bomber attacked a Chinese motorcade in Baluchistan, injuring one Chinese national and killing two children.

In both cases the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad called on Pakistani authorities to “conduct a thorough investigation and severely punish the perpetrators”.

Good luck with that.

Despite these setbacks next door, reports suggest Beijing is pressing its embassy in Kabul to engage with the Taliban to explore business possibilities.

There is even a Taliban spokesman who has told Chinese media that China could play a role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

China knows little to nothing about Afghanistan, but it could take a few lessons from history.

The British, the Russians and now the United States have failed to change the country from its patchwork of often antagonistic fiefdoms and warlords and China will be no different.

The Taliban, holding sway for the moment, regards anyone who does not adhere to its particular Pashtunwali interpretation of Islam to be an infidel and an enemy, especially if they are foreigners who dare to tread the sacred soil of their country.

China, which professes no religion at all, will be seen with particular contempt.

Yes, it is quite possible that in this transition stage, the media-savvy Taliban might like to have some nations onside. China could serve that purpose – for now.

However, if Beijing adopts the same bullying attitude that has been apparent in say Sri Lanka, or hectors local authorities over incidents involving its citizens as it has recently in Pakistan, I suggest it issues its Kabul diplomats with flak jackets and a way of making a fast exit.   

 

Standing up to the dragon

In a world filled with uncertainty, there appears to be one thing Australians can rely on — our relationship with China will never return to what it was just a couple of years ago.

Positions have hardened on both sides and there will certainly be no retreat from the authoritarian, one-party State led by President Xi Jinping.

Nor is there any sign that Canberra will make any of the concessions demanded by Beijing – not from the current Government, or one that might follow.

Friendship between the Governments of Australia and China, never really more than a polite diplomatic illusion, has been permanently shattered by competitive realities in the rapidly-changing world of global power politics.

This does not mean World War III is imminent, or even that we are about to be plunged into a new Cold War. China and Australia can still be economic partners as long as it is in the interests of both nations — and for the moment that is the case.

Just as you don’t have to like the supermarket from which you buy your essential supplies, or the utility that provides your electricity, there will continue to be 1001 things we need with the ‘made in China’ label.  

We pay for all those things, and China pays for the materials that often are essential to their manufacture. It is an equitable business arrangement. Given the gulf that separates the ideology and attitudes of the two countries, a business arrangement is all it need, and probably should, be.

So why are we experiencing all this anger and fury coming out of Beijing simply because Australia reiterates its long-standing position on human rights, or its more recent, and quite reasonable (in fact essential) demand that the world learns more about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic?

In his new book, Red Zone: China’s Challenge and Australia’s Future, Political and International Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Peter Hartcher suggests China has an unrealistic world view in which nations should be grateful for the benefits it is bringing to them through trade.

This especially applies to Australia as it has been buying so much of what we produce, from iron ore to fine wines, and sending so many of its students to be educated at our universities.

The fact these are purely business arrangements beneficial to both sides seems lost on the Beijing Mandarins who complain that our failure to perform in the way they want “hurts the feelings of the Chinese people”.  

Hartcher believes China’s aggressive push-backs to any criticisms, however mild, is cover for an anxious and insecure regime unable to understand why it is not universally loved and admired.

He gives as an example the books and movies about the loveable children’s character, Winnie the Pooh, which suddenly disappeared, almost overnight, after mischievous online references to the bear’s resemblance to President Xi.

“What sort of leader is so threatened by this sort of parody that the national internet must be purged of it?” Hartcher asks.

He points out that nobody in the United States was troubled when President Barack Obama was portrayed at Tigger, the excitably foolish tiger, or when Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe was likened to Eeyore, the sad saggy donkey (both also Pooh characters).

He believes these kinds of actions testify “not to a great power, but to great anxiety – not to great strength, but to great fragility”.

However, even insecure bullies lash out sometimes, and there are some elements in Australia who believe we should be doing more to placate our northern neighbour.

They ask whether we can always rely on the US alliance to back us up in any all-out confrontation, especially as the recent Trump Administration demonstrated it might not always be the steadfast friend of the past.

Hartcher’s answer is that we should refrain from the eternal question of whether to favour China, our largest trading partner, or the US, our traditional ally. 

“Australia needs to concentrate on strengthening itself, making itself armour-plated against foreign subversion and domination, so that it can engage confidently with China and the world,” he writes.

On the question of whether we should make a choice between China and the United States, the answer should always be “Australia”.

Red Zone: China’s Challenge and Australia’s Future, by Peter Hartcher, is published by Black Inc. and costs $32.99.

Populism in the pandemic: Wounded but not dead

Has the pandemic sounded the death knell for Populism as a political movement? You would like to think so given the disastrous response of Populist leaders to COVID-19 around the world.

However, the fact remains that in the second year of this virus, most Populist leaders who were there at its beginning remain in power, and in many cases still retain a solid basis of support.

In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro still draws a crowd; Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s hold on Turkey is as firm as ever; the United Kingdom’s Boris Johnson’s position of strength was confirmed in a recent by-election victory.

The one casualty, of course, has been Donald Trump in the United States, but his dismal performance was so destructive even fellow Populists around the world were scrambling to distance themselves from him.

From claiming that COVID-19 would end “like magic” to blaming it all on the Chinese, then the Democrats, peddling fake remedies, and discouraging the wearing of masks, Trump lurched from one disaster to another as the world’s richest nation chalked up infection and death tolls that rivalled the poorest and least prepared in the Third World.

Yet for all that, it took a massive effort by the opposition to dislodge him. At last year’s election, Trump polled higher than any Republican candidate in history. Fortunately, Joe Biden’s Democrats also broke records. Even so, Trump’s support base remains intact, many nursing the totally unfounded belief that the election was somehow stolen from their candidate.

There is also one aspect of Populist theory that has been strengthened by the pandemic — the suspicion, if not outright hostility to globalisation.

In Australia it has become apparent in our own backyard, with State Premiers making constant references to keeping “Queenslanders” or “Western Australians” safe. We have had disparaging references to “Eastern Staters” and endless eulogies as to how one part of the country was doing so much better than the poor saps in others. Through it all, the references to Australians or Australia were few and far between.

Except of course when it came to closing our borders to the rest of the world, even to the point of threatening desperate citizens overseas who might try to breach ‘Fortress Australia’. Attempts to repatriate Australians stranded in other countries by the pandemic have been spasmodic and inadequate. There are still thousands who cannot find a way home after many months of trying.

The pandemic has exposed Populism to what it has always been — easy answers to complex questions which in the end prove to be now answers at all. Even so, the demagogues and rabble rousers, muted for the time being, have not gone away. In many cases they still hold the levers of power, unrepentant and ready to take up the cause again in more propitious times.

A post-pandemic world, struggling to choose between reaffirming the old ways and adapting to the new ones, could be fertile ground for those wishing to assail the existing order while conveniently fudging what they wish to put in its place.

Family feud fuelling the republic

For the past few days we have been assailed with intimate details of a family squabble from the other side of the world.

A group of rich and entitled people have hurled accusations and denials at each other, breathlessly analysed and dissected by innumerable ‘experts’ and ‘intimates’ on prime time television channels across the globe.

Now I would fully expect the dramas that Prince Harry and his wife experienced within the United Kingdom Royal Family to be of abounding interests to the Brits, many of whom still believe they should be touching the forelock to these people while others take a voyeur’s delight into pushing their noses into other people’s affairs.

However, I cannot understand why this particular family stoush should be dominating attention in Australia, when nearer at home there are other families dying of starvation, separated by unjust and illegal imprisonments, and being beaten up and murdered on the streets by the very people who are supposed to keep them safe.

In the third decade of the 21^st century the only UK royal matter that should be of any interest to Australians is whether the family’s most senior member should continue to be the country’s Head of State, or whether the whole crew should be thrown overboard in preference to a republican style of government.

I note that question was raised in one current local news bulletin with an interview of a young man from the Australian Monarchist League who parroted the usual line about how a constitutional monarchy brings with it stability, checks and balances etc.

It was interesting that the same bulletin did not provide a counter argument from the Australian Republic Movement (ARM) which after all these years since the abortive 2000 referendum still exists — it has a website.

The problem with both these organisations is that their ideas are trapped in a time warp.

The young monarchist with his dogged defence of the status quo based on stability: Does anyone seriously believe that Australia would descend into chaos; that there might be rioting in the streets if the inhabitant of Yarralumla was called a President rather than a Governor General?

As for the check and balances — they operate just as well enshrined in the constitution of the United States, a republic for almost a quarter of a millennium.

At the same time the ARM continues to be outraged largely by the fact that a “foreign” individual is the Australian Head of State. It’s a valid point, but not one that moved sufficient votes in 2000.

Then, the majority of Australians were unimpressed with the ARM’s republican-lite solution that would involve just a name change for the Head of State (let’s call them a president for the moment) who would then carry on their duties just as before.

In answer to the growing chorus from those who wanted an elected president, the ARM hit back by saying what would the issues be — whether to have creams buns or scones at the garden parties?

That was precisely the point.

In 2000 Australians clearly wanted a president who was something more than a figurehead. Quite what that should be was never allowed to be developed, but the desire was undoubtedly there and would be again.

For a long time I believed that the conversion to a republic should be an opportunity for a total overhaul of the Australian Constitution, but there are too many entrenched interests in the States and Territories for that ever to get off the ground.

The need is for a model acceptable for an elected presidency under a parliamentary system. The example of Ireland springs to mind, but there are others.

Finally, there is one more argument that the monarchists tend to put forward whenever this question is raised — that there is no momentum for change.

There was little or no momentum for change until Prime Minister, Paul Keating brought the question forward during his term in office. It then became one of the issues that defined the 1990s leading inevitably to a referendum.

The opportunity for that momentum will come with a new UK Monarch – it will be up to leaders at that time to grasp the issue and take it forward.

 

Public Service News from around the world

Germany promises ‘storm diversity’

BERLIN (January 7): The German Meteorologist Service has promised to give storms more diverse names after an online initiative called for a better reflection of the multicultural make-up of the country’s society.

A low-pressure system bringing frigid temperatures, dark clouds, and snow to the country has been titled Ahmet, a boy's name of Turkish origin.

Other storms to follow will include traditionally male Arabic, Kurdish and Greek names such as Cemal, Goran, Hakim, and Dimitrios.

Meanwhile, high-pressure systems reaching Germany early this year will be called Bozena, Chana, or Dragica, traditionally female names with Polish, Hebrew, and South Slavic roots.

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Fears for Trump’s last days

WASHINGTON (January 6): Former United States Secretaries of Defence have put their names to an opinion article in the Washington Post expressing concerns that President Donald Trump would impose martial law or invoke the Insurrection Act as a way of extending his term in the White House.

The article, signed by all 10 living Secretaries of Defence, including Mark Esper, who was dismissed by Mr Trump just days after the November election, declared “the time for questioning the results has passed”.

It warned that Pentagon officials who helped Mr Trump could “potentially face criminal penalties for the grave consequences of their actions on our republic”.

The former Secretaries were also concerned about institutional upheaval at the Department of Defence since Mr Esper’s firing, including the troop withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan and the realignment of the Pentagon’s Civilian Bureau overseeing special operations.

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Pandemic wreaks havoc in PS

GIBRALTAR (January 5): Gibraltar’s Chief Secretary, Darren Grech has called on Public Servants to act with “absolute resolve and commitment” in dealing with a surge in cases of COVID-19 in the territory.

Mr Grech said the Public Service must strive to ensure “resilience of functionality” even as a large number of public sector workers were either sick or at home in self-isolation.

He said Public Servants should work from home wherever possible, even if in self-isolation.

This follows a statement from Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo that raised concerns about the continued provision of essential public services.

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State’s workers return to offices

KOTA KINABALU (January 5): The Malaysian State of Sabah has announced that all Public Service offices are now operating as normal.

Minister for Local Government, Masidi Manjun said the Government had given the green light to ensure the State’s Public Service’s delivery system was at an effective level.

Mr Masidi reminded Government workers to heed the rules and the Federal Government’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), in place to stop the spread of the virus.

“The police and local authorities will continue to monitor the people’s compliance with the SOPs at public areas as well as social gatherings over the next two weeks,” Mr Masidi said.

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Secretary confirms teleworking rule

VALETTA (January 5): The head of the Maltese Public Service has told Government Departments to keep teleworking in place after a Member of the European Parliament claimed some staff were being ordered back to their desks despite a rise in COVID-19 cases.

In a tweet, Labour MEP, Alfred Sant said any return to normal working was "incomprehensible", particularly after a more infectious strain of the virus had been found in Malta.

However, Principle Permanent Secretary, Mario Cutajar insisted Government policy had not changed.

"I have no knowledge of any Government Department which has directed its employees to forego teleworking and return to their offices. Any direction which runs contrary to that given by this office would surely be overruled," Mr Cutajar said.

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No money for pandemic subsidies 

BRASILIA (January 7): Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro has announced that State subsidies to fight poverty will end as the country is "broke" and he is unable to do anything about it.

Mr Bolsonaro attributed the crisis to "the press-fuelled COVID-19”.

The subsidies, keeping millions of Brazilians from destitution, have ended as the pandemic, which has killed almost 200,000 people in the country, only worsens.

Director of the Centre for Social Policies, Marcelo Neri said Brazil may be "on the edge of a social abyss".

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Top students cool on PS career

NEW DELHI (January 7): A recent survey of the most successful students in the Indian School Board examinations over a 20-year period has shown an almost complete disregard of the Public Service as a career.

Of the 86 men and women who topped their school board examinations between 1995 and 2015, more than half now live abroad and most are working in science and technology, or pursuing advanced degrees in those areas.

The tech sector dominates, followed by medicine and finance. Just one individual is working in the Public Service.

For decades, the Public Service, and especially the elite Indian Administrative Service, has enjoyed an unparalleled social standing. That seems to have changed.

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PS chief rebuffs video criticisms  

EDINBURGH (January 11): Scotland’s top Public Servant has rejected claims from the Opposition Conservative Party that an official video, critical of the United Kingdom’s trade deal with the European Union, had broken the Public Service code on political neutrality.

Permanent Secretary, Leslie Evans said it was the job of officials to help the elected Government of the day take forward its policies and programs.

The video stated that the recent trade agreement was “a bad deal for Scotland” and concluded by saying: “We believe Scotland has the right to choose a better future as an independent country.”

Ms Evans said the video did not purport to be on behalf of the Public Service and represented the consistent policy position of Scottish Government Ministers both on the trade deal and independence.

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Many apply — but few are chosen

KATHMANDU (January 5): The Nepalese Public Service Commission (PSC) has reported that a total of 93,012 candidates appeared in examinations for various Public Service posts in the fiscal year 2019-20.

Of the candidates, 35,866 were females and 57,146 were males. Only 14.2 per cent of them made it through to the second phase of the examinations.

From this number the PSC made recommendations to the Government for permanency of 304 candidates on the basis of scores they secured in the exams.

The number of recommendations for permanency dropped during the last fiscal year after the PSC was compelled to suspend examinations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Concern at teacher recruitment plan

JAKARTA (January 7): The Indonesian Government is pressing ahead with a plan to hire one million teachers on contract despite the suspension of Public Service examinations — the normal path of recruitment.

The decision has sparked concern with the National Civil Service Agency (BKN) saying this was the first stage of a Government plan to stop recruiting teachers via the Public Service.

Head of the BKN, Bima Haria Wibisana said the problem was not new, with so-called non-formal teachers recruited by individual schools.

“Many of them are low paid and overworked, and the suspension of examinations means they have lost an opportunity to take test and move into the Public Service,” Mr Bima said.

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Veteran of UN’s early days dies

NEW YORK (January 6): Sir Brian Urquhart, who has died aged 101, served the United Nations in high posts for four decades, beginning in the organisation’s earliest days.

Born in England, he joined the fledgling UN after service in World War II and by the age of 26 was already in high and influential positions.

He was a tenacious player in the game of survival at the top of the UN. While Secretaries-General came and went and other top staff faded away, he continued his grip on the top posts until his retirement in the mid-1980s.

During Sir Brian’s many active years of retirement he wrote widely on the reform of the UN. However, while he did mellow in later years, he never abandoned a basically conservative persona.

The full International PS News service will resume on January 19.

We should have seen this coming

Like the vast majority of reasonable people around the world I was horrified at the recent events in Washington, even though, hand on heart, I predicted, some 15 months ago, that something like this would happen in the dying days of a Trump presidency.

In an article posted in October 2019 and titled Is Trump too dangerous to defeat? I asked: “What if he did lose?

“This would leave him still in the White House with full presidential powers for more than two months between Election Day and the inauguration of his successor, the so-called lame duck period.

“Might he decide to sign off with a dramatic gesture? Cataclysmic revenge on some of the enemies, or countries that have dared to defy him over the previous four years?

“If so, who would stop him? The US Constitution, designed in a slow-moving, pre-technological age when it was assumed that those in leadership positions were always going to be reasonable men who played by the rules, is silent on the subject.

“Asking these questions would have been unthinkable three years ago, but that was another time; a different world.”

Perhaps if more people had asked those questions as the election neared and polls showed that Trump could indeed lose, we might have avoided the trashing of the Capitol building and the deaths of five people.

We are indeed living in a different world, and seeing I got this more or less right I will make a another prediction: Trump, or Trumpism, will not be going away.

While the man himself is discredited and may well not have the stomach or the energy to try again for the presidency in four years, there are many who see the path he trod as one that could lead them straight to the White House.

Trump-style populism, minus the erratic performance of the man himself, may be the way to harness the 70 million votes the president gained in November, plus more from those who embrace the conservative side of politics, but could not bring themselves to vote this time.

The past four years have shown that the white working class is fertile and potentially decisive ground electorally. Decades ago we laughed at the bigotry of Archie Bunker and Alf Garnett, lampooned in their respective television series. We shouldn’t be laughing now.

Who might take on the mantle of Trump in 2024? There are any number: Senators Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ted Cruz of Texas appear to be the front-runners; don’t discount former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, although it’s going to be just that more difficult for a woman in far right Republican territory.

Normally vice presidents have a good chance of stepping up to challenge for the top job, but Mike Pence’s inevitable part in Trump’s final defeat will probably rule him out in places like rural Oklahoma or Texas.

Someone out of left field? Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who in the weeks after the election was in Israel, burnishing his already bright credentials as a supporter of the Jewish State.

He visited the Golan Heights to denounce those in the “salons of Europe and the elite institutions of America who want Israel to give up the territory to Bashar al-Assad’s Syria”. Music to the ears of the populist base back home.

As journalist and author Zev Chafets summed up in his article covering the trip: “Right now [Pompeo] looks like the leading suitor for [Israeli’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s] help in restoring a Trumpian Middle Eastern policy, minus the drama, to the White House.”

 

Public Service News from around the world

Pressure mounts over oath-taking

HONG KONG (December 29): The head of Hong Kong’s Public Service has stepped up pressure on Government workers by reiterating a threat that any who refuse to take an oath of allegiance to the city could be sacked.

Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said authorities were ready to request all Public Servants to take the oath. More than 3,000 have done so since the oath was introduced in October.

“Civil Servants will have to return the signed declaration within a month, those who refuse will have to give an explanation and will be denied promotion or face dismissal,” Mr Nip said.

He stressed that the one-month deadline was not for Public Servants to consider signing the declaration, but was simply an administrative need.

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Support for remote working

THE HAGUE (December 31): A new survey has revealed that about seven-in-10 Public Servants across Europe believe they can maintain or improve the standards of their service via remote work.

However, the survey, by Dutch-based multinational consultancy, BearingPoint, found that United Kingdom workers were most concerned that without improved training and adaptive management, they would struggle to realise the potential of the new technology they were working with.

The consulting firm polled the experiences of 3,500 Public Servants in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

It found that while the pandemic had seen a major increase in the uptake of digital processes, basic improvements in management and training would be needed to make the most of the changes.

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Recruitment failure draws fire

LONDON (January 3): The United Kingdom Government has come under fire from one of its own MPs for failing to meet its target of recruiting 30,000 new apprentices to the Public Service.

Chair of Parliament’s Education Committee, Robert Halfon said claims that the failure was because of the COVID-19 pandemic did not hold water, because the original pledge was made four years ago.

He said only 16,155 apprentices had been recruited by the time of the lockdown in March — “there is no excuse for this. It’s got to change”.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “We are firmly committed to recruiting 30,000 Civil Service apprentices by April.”

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Data reveals senior PS exodus

WASHINGTON (December 29): Data released by the United States Office of Personnel Management shows that the ranks of senior Public Servants were substantially reduced in the first two years of the Administration of President Donald Trump.

Between calendar years 2016 and 2018, almost eight per cent of Senior Executive Service positions were vacated or remained empty due to a higher-than-usual level of voluntary departures and lower-than-usual number of accessions. 

Some Public Servants resigned their posts in spectacular fashion, publicly alleging widespread disaffection and demoralisation across staff after being repeatedly undercut and undermined by Mr Trump’s political appointees.  

However, the data also showed that among General Schedule Grade Public Servants, who form the bulk of the Federal workforce, voluntary departures increased only marginally in the same period.

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Year-end bonuses delivered on time

HARARE (December 30): All Zimbabwe’s Public Servants received their annual end-of-year bonus by Christmas Day, Minister for Government, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Paul Mavima has confirmed.

Professor Mavima said the Government had now tasked the National Joint Negotiating Council to come up with a roadmap that would enable the Government to pay its workers salaries equivalent to US$500 ($A648) on average.

“The roadmap is supposed to be done by January 31, so we will have a winning formula going forward,” Professor Mavima said.

Salaries tied to the US dollar, or dollarisation, has been a demand of unions as the local currency is practically worthless.

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Government rejects video criticism

EDINBURGH (January 1): The Scottish Government has been taken to task by the leader of the country’s Conservatives for using Public Servants to produce a film critical of the trade deal Westminster negotiated with the European Union.

Leader of the Conservatives in Scotland, Douglas Ross demanded an apology, claiming Scottish Government officials may have broken the Public Service code on political neutrality by promoting the video, which also argued Scotland should be independent and re-join the EU.

However, the Government was unrepentant saying it represented Scots’ opinion — “and Scotland did not vote to leave the EU”.

Minister for External Affairs in the ruling Scottish National Party Government, Mike Russell said Scotland’s forced exit from the EU single market and customs union would “hit jobs and living standards hard”.

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‘Bloated PS’ claims rebuffed

KUALA LUMPUR (January 3): Malaysia’s main Public Service union continues to rebuff claims that the country’s bureaucracy is bloated, saying critics neglected the fact that the 1.6 million personnel included health, education and security sectors.

President of the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs), Adnan Mat said the actual number of Public Servants was 600,000.

"Taking into consideration the present challenges brought about by the global pandemic and the preparation for the future, we still need more people in the education, security and the public health sectors," Mr Adnan said.

He was responding to a newspaper opinion piece written by former Ambassador, Fauziah Mohd Taib which claimed the pandemic had shown that the Public Service could operate effectively at 30 per cent of its capacity.

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Crackdown on salary protesters 

BAGHDAD (December 31): The Kurdistan Government in northern Iraq has been unable to pay full salaries to its Public Servants, leading to demonstrations in the semi-autonomous region.

Security forces launched a crackdown on the protests leading to the deaths of at least seven people.

Leaders of the main Kurdistan political parties have accused the Central Government in Baghdad of withholding money due to the region. However, critics say decades of corruption and mismanagement of Kurdish resources are to blame.

They say there is growing public anger at the current dysfunctional system that has stunted the growth of the Kurdish economy and made it almost entirely dependent on oil and gas.

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PM demands end to corruption

KUALA LUMPUR (December 29): Malaysia’s Prime Minister has told Public Servants they cannot use the pandemic as an excuse not to deliver services to the public in an efficient and effective way.

Muhyiddin Yassin said it was important that more initiatives than ever be implemented to improve integrity and governance “such as through efforts to combat corruption to ensure efficiency and transparency of the administration”.

“As Local Authorities are among the front-liners who are often exposed to corruption, efforts to combat this crime need to remain an important agenda item that should be widely implemented among their personnel,” Tan Sri Muhyiddin said.

“This is so that we can create a work culture with integrity without compromising any code of values and ethics.”

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Ministry investigating PS chat-bots

NEW DELHI (January 3): The Indian Government has invited bids to develop a chat-bot or voice assistance application like Amazon's Alexa or Google Assistant to deliver services to the public.

The artificial intelligence-based conversational platform would be expected to interact with the public in multiple languages, analyse sentiments and intent, collect and analyse data and give personalised experiences to users.

In a statement, the Ministry of Electronics and IT said the chat-bots should be able to turn speech into a textual input and turn text into speech.

"Platforms should also have other deep learning capabilities, recommending users to the best-fit schemes and services available in the Government domain based on his/her profile," the statement said.

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Penalties for men who refused to serve

BEIJING (January 2): Two men who refused to serve in China’s military have been listed as ‘dishonest persons’ the country’s Global Times newspaper has reported.

The men, from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, bordering Vietnam, will be prohibited from employment for an unidentified period, the newspaper said, quoting local media.  

The report said the men, named only as Yang and Liao, were also fined 33,006 yuan ($A6,572) and 32,376 yuan ($A6,447), respectively and would be “exposed” on local television.

The Global Times said the two men were initially enlisted, but refused military discipline and were discharged. Military service is mandatory in China.

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New system results in promotions

ILORIN (January 1):  The Western Nigerian State of Kwara has announced the promotion of 1,600 Public Servants who passed an examination and oral interview.

Chair of the State’s Civil Service Commission, Habeebat Yusuf said that the officers came from different Ministries, Agencies and Departments and varied in seniority.

“We evaluated the officers using a new Performance Management System which has been a success,” Ms Yusuf said.

“I now urge all the promoted officers to be proactive and diligent in the duties that come with their new responsibilities.”

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New language test for PS

KIEV (January 4): Most applicants for Ukraine’s Public Service will in future have to pass a test showing they are proficient in the Ukrainian language.

The country’s Language Ombudsman, Taras Kremin said the test would initially be taken by mayors, Ministers, officials and heads of administrations, State enterprises and prosecutors.

“So it’s those who will be directly involved in Government activity; it will also apply to citizens of other countries seeking Ukrainian citizenship,” Mr Kremin said.

He said non-Ukrainian speakers already in the Public Service would be given time to get their language skills up to the required level.

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Diversity plan for State troopers

OLYMPIA (January 4): the US State of Washington is to recruit 60 State troopers and 24 Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officers following months of protests against racial injustice and calls to de-fund the police.

Sergeant Darren Wright said most of the positions that had to be filled were due to troopers retiring.

“One of our priorities is diversifying the Department and we have hired a diversity officer to help with recruitment,” Sergeant Wright said.

“The last class we graduated was 40 per cent either female or minority and we’re looking to improve on that.”

The full International PS News service will resume on January 19.