A most unprofessional response

Jul 20, 2011 Letters

Dear Editor:
On Thursday, June 23, one Mr. Rafiq Khan, unhappy with the service at the GRA, chose to pen a letter, which one could say was a tad harsh in his description, (What is the rationale behind the bureaucratic nonsense at the GRA?, SN) about his frustrating experience.
His experience was similar to a lot of us who have had the opportunity to visit the GRA and experience increased blood pressure levels as we try to request the simplest of services.
Instead of responding with professionalism to Mr. Khan, by sincerely apologizing, on June 29, 2010, Mr. Khurshid Sattaur responded in a thoroughly unsuitable letter (Motor vehicle licensing process and TIN), attacking Mr. Khan’s family, his experience and his choices in life in the most sarcastic and puerile manner, unbecoming of a public servant and especially the head of the GRA.
Any professional would have realized that Mr. Khan’s letter was written in utter frustration and would have thought of ways to improve communication between the parties, to improve the existing situation at the GRA by conducting an investigation and to resolve whatever conflict exists.
It is understandable that Mr. Sattaur would want to defend his organization, which has undergone much positive change, against criticism, but there are better ways of doing so.
Two weeks later, on July 18, 2011 (Mr. Khan should publicly apologise to GRA staff, KN) GRA staff, following Mr. Sattaur’s lead, responded to Mr. Khan even more unprofessionally, asking for an apology and issuing a thinly veiled threat “I wonder how he will feel conducting business in future with “the inept staff” at GRA, since two things in life are certain, DEATH AND THE PAYMENT OF TAXES.”
It’s painful to read such statements in public. It truly demonstrates the lack of professionalism in existence and validates the original letter by Mr. Khan. It is a disgrace that civil servants feel that they can publicly issue veiled threats against the citizens whom they are supposed to SERVE.
The GRA may employ a great percentage of degreed individuals but even with a PhD, the ineptitude, bullyism, lack of professional ethics and arrogance displayed by the letter writer(s) would find all of them unemployable in any developed country.
An investigation needs to be carried out to determine who the writer(s) of that letter is/are and appropriate disciplinary action taken, as threats against private citizens by public servants are thoroughly unacceptable in a democratic society.
In closing, I quote Franz Neumann, “If the concepts ‘enemy’ and ‘fear’ constitute the ‘energetic principles’ of politics, a democratic political system is impossible, whether the fear is produced from within or without… If freedom is absence of restraints, the restraints to be removed are many, but the psychological restraint of fear ranks first.”
R. Kumar

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