Sheet 81
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS UNDER PUBLIC SCRUTINY
1 The Authority of Government Officials Faced with Public Scrutiny and Criticism
Government officials, in their legal capacity to carry out public administrative activities such as to restricting the freedom of those who break the law, have tremendous authority and power. In implementing the law, government officials are expected to lead their own lives as good models of law-abiding citizens. It follows that public criticism is particularly severe when officials themselves violate the law.
The activities of public administration span a wide spectrum. Even amongst themselves, government officers undertake jobs of a very different nature, and depending on their role and rank, they also have different levels of authority and responsibility. The public, however, have a tendency to view all government officers as one single body which controls many functions and has extensive powers. As such, they expect each public official to hold extremely high standards when it comes to abiding the law.
In short, government officials must be fully aware of their mission as upholders and implementers of the law. Before they may supervise the morality of others, their own sense of morality and standard of ethics must be impeccable.
2 Government Officials Must Project an Honest and Respectable Image
Government officials are given the authority to carry out public administration based on the understanding that they will be impartial in implementing the law, and will use their specialist knowledge to make fair and sound judgments.
If government officials were to adopt a careless attitude or behave in such a manner as to invite doubt over their integrity, they would be unable to command the trust of the people, no matter how just and impartial they may be in their work. Nobody wants to allow agencies, which employ untrustworthy people, make important decisions that will affect their lives. Once the integrity of any solitary official is in question, the whole government agency could suffer a loss of confidence.
If a public official goes out for a drink with a colleague from the private sector, for example, the public may view this as a relationship outside of work. The public may then assume that they enjoy special favors from one another, despite the fact that each may be paying their own way. Public opinion becomes more harsh the more senior and powerful the official may be. Government officials, whose job it is to interact with and collect information from the private sector, must do so without inviting suspicion from the public.
It is not sufficient for government officials to simply carry out their work in an honest and respectable manner. They must actively project such an image and let the public see them to be doing.
