(a) What are the major differences between the civil service and public service?
(b) Discuss the main criticisms against the Nigerian civil service.
Explanation
(a) Differences between the civil service and public service:
(i) There is the Board of Directors to manage the affairs of the public service while the Director-General (Permanent Secretary) is the chief executive and administrative head of the ministry in the civil service, while the political head is the minister
(ii) Public service can go for loans, the civil service cannot.
(iii) The ministry or the civil service is bureaucratic while the public service takes immediate action.
(iv) The Director General or permanent Secretary is the administrative head of a ministry while a general manager is appointed for the public service.
(v) The responsibilities of a minister is limited in the public service and not in the civil service.
(vi)The civil service is not a profit making outfit while the public service makes profit.
(vii) Workers in the ministry are employed by the public Service Commission while those of the public service are appointed or employed by the Board of Directors.
(viii) The workers in the public service enjoy better conditions of service than those in the civil service.
(ix) The civil service pays its revenue into the consolidated fund while the public service does not pay.
(x) The functions of the civil service are for the provision of amenities e.g. water, light, etc.
(xi) The civil service depends directly on annual., budget while the public service is not tied to the executive annual budget.
(xii) Workers in the civil service are known as civil servants while those in the public service are called public servants.
(b) The main criticisms against the Nigerian civil service:
(i) Poor conditions of service: The poor condition of service in the civil service is responsible for non-attraction of qualified personnel into the service. Incentives for hard work are virtually absent.
(ii) Bureaucracy or Red Tapism: This works against the effectiveness of the civil service because issues are excessively adhered to.
(iii) Lack of qualified personnel: There is movement of workers from the service to other sectors for better and more attractive working conditions.
(iv) Political instability: This has resulted in constant changes of top government officials e.g. ministers, Director-General/Permanent Secretary, etc. The issue of decision making and implementation are equally affected.
(v) Tribalism: This has become the determinant factor in the employment of workers into the service.
(vi) Political interference; The civil service is no more given a free hand to run its affairs due to constant interference from the governments.
(vii) Bribery and corruption: These have affected the efficiency of the civil service. Most civil servants fail to perform their functions as every attention is directed towards bribery before any work is done.
(viii) No adequate training facilities: Adequate facilities are absent in our locality and as a result some people are sent overseas for further training.
(ix) Unfriendly attitude of civil servants: At times, they are impatient and not ready to listen to people coming with complaints.
(x) Over staffing: There is redundancy, laxity and "I don't care attitude to work"; demonstrated by most of the workers in the service.