Govt ministries should communicate effectively

Dear Editor,

IF ANYONE had ever been to a meeting which involved multiple government ministries, one couldn't help but feel that information did not flow freely between ministries as well as within the ministry itself. There seemed to be confusion at times as to what each ministries were doing. In certain situation, there were some actions taken by certain ministry which were in total conflict with other ministry. It was also common for ministries to duplicate works which created redundancy and wasted resources. Other times, I saw ministries having disagreements but it's already too late to do anything to resolve these issues. It's not difficult to assume that ministries did not communicate effectively and efficiently among each others. Each department seemed to think and act independently. Wouldn't it be better for all members to communicate constantly so that ideas can be shared, projects can be discussed and improved, disagreements can be resolved before implementation.

Maybe there should be a shared directory in which information is shared among the different ministries accessible through internet. This directory will only be accessible for relevant officers, managers or permanent secretaries. Then the ministries should also share relevant information among themselves. As good corporate practices, managers would meet their team members regularly to discuss and share the information. In the world today, the technologies to enable effective and efficient communication are readily available. However, technology needs to be combined with action by the people in order to work.

Anonymous
Bandar Seri Begawan