The establishment of a “Ministry of Water Management” is not a new concept. In 1993, a group of MPs came together to propose this idea. Later in 2007, the government led by General Surayud. Chulanont proposed the water issue as a national agenda item. The Ministry of Agriculture raised the matter for public attention again in 2008. However, until now, there has been no consideration by the government for serious implementation of this measure.
The idea to form a “Ministry of Water Management” to solve problems in water management comes from a situation in which many public agencies are responsible for water issues, with each unit working and functioning in its own way, scattered across different departments and ministries, and with unity and co-ordination lacking. For example, the Irrigation Department is part of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Department of Water Resources is in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Meteorological Department is in the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology.
Thus, to collect these different agencies together under the same Ministry, would help to achieve the integration of various departments. The management system would be comprehensive and move in the same direction. Co-ordination would be more effective, budgeting easier, and strategic long-term planning for water resource management would provide sustainable solutions to Thailand’s water problem.
However, the concept of a “Ministry of Water Management” has been criticized for various reasons, such as the long process and time involved to establish this new ministry, including research that must be conducted, laws that must be passed, a new structure that must be set up and resources that must be re-allocated.
Lessons from new ministry establishment during the first Thaksin government have taught us that new ministries are weak and take a long time before they can function properly. Moreover, some opponents will criticize the establishment of a new ministry as a mere attempt to add a new ministerial position to the cabinet in order to seek benefits.
In my opinion, the idea of setting up a “Ministry of Water Management” is interesting in terms of integrating various government agencies to work more efficiently and to move in the same direction. However, I will suggest some issues for the government to consider before deciding on whether to set up a ministry or not.
First, to be “problem-oriented,” or “goal-oriented?”
The concept of establishing a “Ministry of Water Management” seems sourced from a problem-oriented perspective. The public sector has experienced problems in its management and co-ordination of various departments. Thus, a “Ministry of Water Management” was proposed in order to solve these problems. Though collecting together all the related departments to be under a “Ministry of Water Management” may improve Thailand’s water management, it may not provide the best solution because it is not a goal-oriented perspective. A “problem-oriented” perspective focuses on how to set a proper structure in place for all departments, related to water issues, rather than proposing what the government wants to achieve or do long-term and then setting up a proper structure for the Ministry in support of its operation toward goals in the most effective way.
Second, to be at “operational level,” or “policy level?”
The idea of establishing a “Ministry of Water Management” has been proposed in order to solve the problems of management, lack of unity and co-ordination. The important reason for these problems may be due to many past governments never setting a long-term vision, or having strategic plans or the political will to push this issue forward for the country. The establishment of a “Ministry of Water Management” may not be useful or powerful enough for policy implementation if the government has no commitment and determination to push this idea through until it is successful.
Third, to be with “centralized authority,” or “centralized co-ordination?”
Management, based structurally on a “Ministry of Water Management” would be hierarchical, and seem centralized in authority. Policy operation and implementation based on a bureaucratic system with its top-down chain of command would be beneficial as authority, budget, resources and information are found in the same place. However, effectiveness in management may be low due to rigid government regulations, system inflexibility and a bulky structure.
Water management is related to other issues. Although the new structure will be helpful in terms of reducing co-ordination costs across ministries and departments responsible for water issues in the country, no matter how it is structured, to manage water effectively needs continuous co- ordination across ministries and departments. For example, co-ordination is still necessary with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Industry to take care of the manufacturing sector, or co-ordination with the Department of Lands and the Department of Public Works and Planning to plan and control the use of land to be consistent with water management plans.
Moreover, central government is not the only agency dealing with water management. Alongside government at national-level, are local government authorities, the private sector, the civil society sector and the third sector (comprising NGOs, social enterprises, co-operatives, etc.), or even international agencies that can play important roles, or that can influence the government in water management.
To set up a proper public sector structure for water management should not be narrowed down only to establishing a “Ministry of Water Management.” It should be compared to other types of structures by considering the ability to co-ordinate and co-operate with other departments in order to work together effectively. This new idea could even become innovative in public administration itself.
In fact I agree and have proposed the establishment of a “Ministry of Water Management” in the past years ago and I agree that it is most likely necessary to re-organize the structure of the entire public sector in order to remain consistent with current contexts and future direction. But, before establishing a “Ministry of Water Management,” the important issue is to establish a vision for the country’s water management and to ensure the commitment of government to fulfill this vision by recruiting all stakeholders to be involved. Without such a perspective, it will be useless to establish a “Ministry of Water Management,” and will instead prove the old proverb that one should never “Count one’s chickens before they hatch.”
