Ethos Issue 6, Jul 2009
Crisis-proof Governance
Featuring: Mr Sa Bali Abas (Permanent Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office, Brunei);
Mr Sabir Said Al-Harbi (Director General, Economics Statistics,
Ministry of National Economy, Oman);
Mr Solomon Molebat si Sekwakwa (Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance &
Development Planning, Botswana)
SA BALI: Brunei is focusing on developing
the business sector. We are also opening
up areas for industrial development,
such as Sungai Liang Industrial Park,1 where we support potential investors
and facilitate business startups.
The public service is also looking
into streamlining its processes and
procedures to make it easier for people
to start businesses in Brunei. While it
is well known that the private sector is
the main engine of economic growth,
the major employer in Brunei is the
government: there are 44,000 public
servants and the government sector
is quite saturated. Unless we speed up
the development of the private sector,
we will not be able to generate much
more employment.
The crisis has renewed attention in the
role of governments—as regulators and
as rescuers. Have you seen a change
in public expectations of governments
since the onset of the crisis?
SABIR: One of the things I discovered
in the crisis is that the regulatory
framework in Oman, especially in the
financial sector, is very strong. Banks
are still in a very strong position and
have not been badly hit at all. In fact,
we are hoping that the flow of foreign
investments will grow; we foresee that
investments may be diverted away
from Europe and the US—where trust
has been declining—to countries where
regulations have been more robust. The
consensus is that the government will
have to respond quickly according to
changing global circumstances and how
they affect the private sector.
SEKWAKWA: I think this crisis is an
opportunity to clean up the economy.
Our banks are more tightly regulated
compared to some European countries;
we don’t really have a financial crisis.
What happened in the US should really
not have happened and, going forward,
we will see a move towards tighter
regulation and supervision of their
financial sector.
The impact in Botswana is more
because of the decline in export sales.
Before this global financial crisis, we had
a food crisis: the prices of commodities
were going up, and the government had
to step in with assistance. This time, we
could not do as much. People appreciate that given the current situation, we
have to tighten our spending and be
more prudent.
SA BALI: To me, the issue is not so much
a lack of governance as there is a lack of
adherence to governance. You can have
all the laws, procedures and processes,
but if the players are not really observing
these rules, then things start to happen.
Look at these toxic assets in the US: the
people don’t want to buy them, and the
US government is not ready to let them
go at a greatly reduced price because the
banks will incur more losses. It should
really be the responsibility of the main
corporate players.
In Brunei, the focus is on a prudent
operating budget for government. We
will also make the public service more
efficient, to make every dollar that we
spend, count. Of course, we do not stop
investing in human capacity-building
and in developmental projects where
resources have already been allocated.
Is there anything that you observed
in Singapore during your time at the
Leaders in Governance Programme that
you have found useful to consider?
SABIR: I think the Singapore Government’s
budgetary response to the crisis is
exemplary, because it will not only
help businesses but also employment,
and at the same time reinvest in
human resources.
The other remarkable thing is
that the Government plans 30 to 40
years ahead, and not only plans but
documents everything, so you can look
at past results and learn from them.
The strength of Singapore’s
institutions is that they have a clear
sense of vision, mission and tasks.
Everyone knows what is happening;
there is good interaction between
politicians, policymakers, operational
staff, and the public. It is as if they are
all working in a small office: everybody
speaks the same language.
SA BALI: Indeed, there seems to be good
communication between public sector
leaders and the political leadership. This
mutual respect is important; they might
not always agree with each other but
they are able to work together for the
better of the country.
It was rewarding to learn not only
about the successes of Singapore but also
areas which needed adjustment, such
as population policies: how you have
moved from a two-child policy in the
past to now having to bring in people from elsewhere, because of your low
fertility rate.
Also, I found it laudable that you
spend a hefty proportion of your GDP in
research and development—perhaps the
only country in Asia other than Japan to
do so.
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