The Government has announced that no public officer will henceforth be promoted or get an increase in salary unless there is a positive performance appraisal of that officer’s work. There is nothing wrong about a system which appraises the work of anyone.

In fact, it is a good system which promotes effi ciency and professionalism.

But can such a system really work in this “ plaisir country”? The reason for asking is the track record of the public service. If in fact the public service had functioned in the spirit of the public service at the time of independence, there would have been nothing to worry about. In those days, meritocracy and competence prevailed and there were no other considerations that came into play.

Unfortunately the situation has changed for the worse and the root cause of this is the overpoliticisation of all institutions. Nothing can get done unless there are political blessings.

The nature of so- called independent institutions has undergone profound changes with the result that their mission is forgotten.

In such a situation comes the performance appraisal. How many honest appraisers can the country boast? If there are honest appraisers, how many can withstand pressure from the political masters of the day ? How many can really say no to a politician in power, knowing that saying “ no” can affect him or her personally ? If this country did not suffer from ethnic, caste, or political considerations, then one could say with a high degree of certainty that the performance appraisal system is what is required. Sadly this is not the case and all the talk about equality of opportunity, non discrimination and meritocracy is simply that. Talk! Or as the saying goes, “ talk the talk but do not walk the talk”. How can one expect someone to honestly and professionally appraise, for example, the close relative of someone who is the head of the department ? Or how does one proceed to appraise the work of magistrates and judges ? By the length of time they take to write their judgments or by the number of cases that they handle in a year ? Would it be in order for an appraiser who inevitably in Mauritius must have an ethnic origin to appraise the performance of an individual from the same ethnic origin ? This query can be extended ad infi nitum in view of the permutations that are possible here. How is a challenge possible to an appraisal ? Is it at the time of the appraisal and should all consequential appointments and promotions be frozen pending the determination of all challenges ? Whatever merit there can be in a system of performance appraisal or selection, there will continue to lurk in the minds of all those who are subjected to such a test that they did not get a fair deal. The existing system which allowed a public offi cer to rise in the ranks with the passage of time, provided there was nothing adverse, has at least the merit of transparency. The selection process in absolute terms may be excellent but in practice, it has already caused great prejudice to many.

The performance appraisal is not inventing the wheel. The personal file for every public officer has always existed and the PSC works on it. It is now felt that it has not performed and it must be replaced. But the guys who were responsible for the personal fi les will again be responsible for the performance appraisal. What is really required is the appraisal of the appraisers ?