A few ways to fix a government | Charity Wayua

譯者: Huan-Yu Hsieh 審譯者: Marssi Draw

Growing up in Kenya,

在肯亞長大的我，

I knew I always wanted to study biochemistry.

知道自己一直很想學習生物化學。

See, I had seen the impact of the high prevalence of diseases like malaria,

我見過像瘧疾這樣 高度流行的疾病所造成的影響，

and I wanted to make medicines that would cure the sick.

我想要製作出能治癒疾病的醫藥。

So I worked really hard,

所以我非常努力，

got a scholarship to the United States, where I became a cancer researcher,

得到了赴美深造的獎學金， 成為癌症研究學家，

and I loved it.

我熱愛自己的工作。

For someone who wants to cure diseases,

對於一個希望能治病的人來說，

there is no higher calling.

沒有比這個更高的使命。

Ten years later, I returned to Kenya to do just that.

十年後我回到肯亞， 就是為了繼續這樣的使命。

A freshly minted PhD,

戴上全新的博士光環，

ready to take on this horrific illness,

準備好對抗這可怕的疾病。

which in Kenya was almost certainly a death sentence.

對當時的肯亞來說， 得了癌症就等於被判了死刑。

But instead of landing a job in a pharmaceutical company

但是我並沒有進入藥廠，

or a hospital,

或到醫院工作，

I found myself drawn to a different kind of lab,

我發現自己被引領到另一種實驗室，

working with a different kind of patient --

為另一種病人工作──

a patient whose illness was so serious

這位病人病得非常嚴重，

it impacted every single person in my country;

影響了我祖國的每一個人，

a patient who needed to get healthy fast.

這個病人亟待恢復健康，

That patient was my government.

這個病人就是我們的政府。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

See, many of us will agree that lots of governments are unhealthy today.

很多人應該都會同意， 如今許多政府都不太健康。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

(Applause)

（掌聲）

And Kenya was no exception.

肯亞也不例外。

When I returned to Kenya in 2014,

當我在 2014 年返回肯亞時，

there was 17 percent youth unemployment.

青年失業率是 17%，

And Nairobi, the major business hub,

主要商業樞紐──首都奈洛比，

was rated 177th on the quality of living index.

生活品質指標名列第 177 名，

It was bad.

情況非常糟。

Now, an economy is only as healthy as the entities that make it up.

只有在組成的實體都健全的狀況下， 一個經濟體才會健全。

So when government --

所以當政府──

one of its most vital entities --

也就是其中最重要的實體──

is weak or unhealthy,

不健全或很虛弱時，

everyone and everything suffers.

所有人事物都會受苦。

Sometimes you might put a Band-Aid in place

有時候你會想要貼上 OK 繃，

to try and temporarily stop the pain.

試著暫時止痛，

Maybe some of you here have participated

或許你們其中有些人曾經參與

in a Band-Aid operation to an African country --

幫非洲國家貼上 OK 繃的過程──

setting up alternative schools, building hospitals, digging wells --

設立另類學校、建造醫院、挖水井──

because governments there either weren't or couldn't provide

因為那裡的政府

不願意或無法提供人民這些服務。

the services to their citizens.

We all know this is a temporary solution.

我們都知道這只是暫時的辦法，

There are just some things Band-Aids can't fix,

有一些事情光用 OK 繃 是無法解決的，

like providing an environment where businesses feel secure

像是提供讓企業感覺安全的環境，

that they'll have an equal opportunity

讓大家有平等的機會

to be able to run and start their businesses successfully.

可以成功地開始經商，

Or there are systems in place

或是讓制度到位，

that would protect the private property that they create.

保護大家創造出來的私有財產。

I would argue,

我認為，

only government is capable of creating these necessary conditions

只有政府才有能力創造出

for economies to thrive.

讓經濟蓬勃發展的必要環境。

Economies thrive when business are able to quickly and easily set up shop.

當企業可以簡單快速地設立商店， 就能促進經濟繁榮。

Business owners create new sources of income for themselves,

企業經營者 為自己創造新的收入來源，

new jobs get added into the economy

經濟體增加了新的工作機會，

and then more taxes are paid to fund public projects.

就會帶來更多稅收， 進而發展公共計畫。

New business is good for everyone.

新的企業對大家都有益處，

And it's such an important measure of economic growth,

也是測量經濟成長的重要指標。

the World Bank has a ranking called the "Ease of Doing Business Ranking,"

世界銀行有一項 「經商便利度」排名，

which measures how easy or difficult it is to start a business

測量在任何國家開始經商的難易度。

in any given country.

And as you can imagine,

你們可以想像，

starting or running a business in a country with an ailing government --

要在一個有惡質政府的 國家開始經商，

almost impossible.

是幾乎不可能的。

The President of Kenya knew this, which is why in 2014,

肯亞的總統深諳此理， 因此在 2014 年，

he came to our lab and asked us to partner with him

他來到我們的實驗室， 希望我們與他合作，

to be able to help Kenya to jump-start business growth.

幫助肯亞加速企業成長。

He set an ambitious goal:

他訂了一個很有野心的目標：

he wanted Kenya to be ranked top 50 in this World Bank ranking.

他希望肯亞能在世界銀行的排名中 名列前 50 名，

In 2014 when he came,

他 2014 年來找我們的時候，

Kenya was ranked 136 out of 189 countries.

肯亞在 189 個國家中 名列第 136。

We had our work cut out for us.

我們的任務非常艱鉅。

Fortunately, he came to the right place.

幸好，他找對地方了。

We're not just a Band-Aid kind of team.

我們不是只會貼 OK 繃的團隊，

We're a group of computer scientists, mathematicians, engineers

我們是一群電腦科學家、 數學家、工程師，

and a cancer researcher,

還有癌症研究學家。

who understood that in order to cure the sickness

我們知道如果要治療

of a system as big as government,

像政府這麼大的一個系統，

we needed to examine the whole body,

我們需要檢驗整個身體，

and then we needed to drill down all the way from the organs,

我們需要深入各個器官，

into the tissues,

還有所有身體組織，

all the way to single cells,

直到每一個單一細胞，

so that we could properly make a diagnosis.

才能做出正確的診斷。

So with our marching orders from the President himself,

所以我們帶著總統本人的成命，

we embarked on the purest of the scientific method:

採用最純粹的科學方法：

collecting data --

收集資料──

all the data we could get our hands on --

所有我們能夠取得的資料──

making hypotheses,

作出假設、

creating solutions,

建立解決方案、

one after the other.

一步接著一步去做。

So we met with hundreds of individuals who worked at government agencies,

我們面談了數百位 在政府機關工作的人，

from the tax agency, the lands office, utilities company,

包括稅務機關、 地政機關、公用事業、

the agency that's responsible for registering companies,

負責公司登記的機關，

and with each of them, we observed them as they served customers,

我們觀察每一位人員 服務客戶時的狀況，

we documented their processes -- most of them were manual.

我們記錄了所有流程── 因為大部分是人工的。

We also just went back and looked at a lot of their previous paperwork

我們還回頭查看許多過去的公文，

to try and really understand;

試著深入了解，

to try and diagnose what bodily malfunctions had occurred

試著診斷身體功能發生哪些問題，

that lead to that 136th spot on the World Bank list.

導致我們被世界銀行 排在第 136 名。

What did we find?

我們發現什麼呢？

Well, in Kenya it was taking 72 days

在肯亞， 企業經營者需要 72 天

for a business owner to register their property,

才能登記其產業。

compared to just one day in New Zealand,

而世界銀行名單排名第二的紐西蘭

which was ranked second on the World Bank list.

只需要一天。

It took 158 days to get a new electric connection.

安裝新的電路管線需要 158 天，

In Korea it took 18 days.

在韓國只要 18 天。

If you wanted to get a construction permit

如果你需要

蓋房子的建築許可，

so you could put up a building,

in Kenya, it was going to take you 125 days.

在肯亞要花上 125 天，

In Singapore, which is ranked first, that would only take you 26 days.

而排名第一的新加坡 只需要 26 天。

God forbid you had to go to court

如果想上法庭解決糾紛、執行合約，

to get help in being able to settle a dispute to enforce a contract,

希望不會發生，

because that process alone would take you 465 days.

因為光是這個程序 就會花上 465 天。

And if that wasn't bad enough,

這還不夠糟，

you would lose 40 percent of your claim in just fees --

光是需要支付的費用， 就會讓你損失索賠的 40 %，

legal fees, enforcement fees, court fees.

像是律師費、執行費、訴訟費。

Now, I know what you're thinking:

我知道你在想什麼：

for there to exist such inefficiencies in an African country,

一個非洲國家有這麼差的辦事效率，

there must be corruption.

表示一定存在貪汙。

The very cells that run the show must be corrupt to the bone.

操縱全局的核心人物 一定都腐敗到骨子裡了。

I thought so, too, actually.

事實上，我也這麼以為。

When we started out,

剛開始的時候，

I thought I was going to find so much corruption,

我以為我會發現各種貪污腐敗，

I was literally going to either die or get killed in the process.

我可能會在過程中 真的死掉或是被殺。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But when we dug deeper,

但是隨著我們的調查逐漸深入，

we didn't find corruption in the classic sense:

我們並沒有發現 一般人認為的那種腐敗：

slimy gangsters lurking in the darkness,

在暗處潛伏的狡猾黑道，

waiting to grease the palms of their friends.

等著賄賂徇私。

What we found was an overwhelming sense of helplessness.

我們發現的， 是排山倒海而來的無力感。

Our government was sick,

我們的政府生病了，

because government employees felt helpless.

因為政府職員感到無可奈何。

They felt that they were not empowered to drive change.

他們覺得自己沒有被賦予 可以改變現狀的能力。

And when people feel stuck and helpless,

而當人們感到無奈受困時，

they stop seeing their role in a bigger system.

他們再也看不見 自己在大體制裡面的角色，

They start to think the work they do doesn't matter in driving change.

開始認為自己的工作不會帶來改變。

And when that happens,

當這種情況發生時，

things slow down,

一切都開始變慢，

fall through the cracks

像掉進黑暗的狹縫中，

and inefficiencies flourish.

效率越來越低。

Now imagine with me,

現在跟我一起想像，

if you had a process you had to go through --

如果你有一個辦公程序需要去跑──

had no other alternative --

沒有其他替代方案──

and this process was inefficient, complex

而這個程序既複雜又沒效率，

and very, very slow.

而且非常緩慢耗時。

What would you do?

你會怎麼做？

I think you might start by trying to find somebody to outsource it to,

可能你一開始會另外找人去做，

so that they can just take care of that for you.

讓別人幫你搞定。

If that doesn't work,

如果還是不行，

maybe you'd consider paying somebody

你可能會考慮付錢，

to just "unofficially" take care of it on your behalf --

讓人｢私下｣幫你處理──

especially if you thought nobody was going to catch you.

尤其是你覺得不會被發現的話。

Not out of malice or greed,

不是出於惡意或貪欲，

just trying to make sure that you get something to work for you

只是想確保事情可以辦成，

so you can move on.

好讓你繼續下一步。

Unfortunately, that is the beginning of corruption.

不幸的是，這就是腐敗的開端。

And if left to thrive and grow,

而且如果放任它繼續擴大，

it seeps into the whole system,

就會滲透到整個體制中，

and before you know it,

然後在你還沒發現的時候，

the whole body is sick.

整個體制就已經生病了。

Knowing this,

了解到這一點，

we had to start by making sure

我們首先必須確認，

that every single stakeholder we worked with had a shared vision

每一位合作的相關人士，

都對我們要做的事情 擁有共同的願景。

for what we wanted to do.

So we met with everyone,

因此我們和所有人見面，

from the clerk whose sole job is to remove staples

從工作內容是

拆除申請文件訂書針的職員，

from application packets,

to the legal drafters at the attorney general's office,

到總檢察長辦公室的 法律文書起草人，

以及企業經營者到政府機關辦事時，

to the clerks who are responsible for serving business owners

when they came to access government services.

負責接待的櫃臺人員。

And with them,

和他們一起，

we made sure that they understood

我們確保大家都能了解，

how their day-to-day actions were impacting our ability as a country

他們每天的一舉一動， 都會影響整個國家

to create new jobs and to attract investments.

創造新的工作機會 以及吸引資金的能力。

No one's role was too small; everyone's role was vital.

沒有人的角色輕如鴻毛， 每個人都至關重要。

Now, guess what we started to see?

那麼，來猜猜看， 我們看到怎樣的改變？

A coalition of government employees

一個所有人都充滿期待

who are excited and ready to drive change,

而且準備好 做出改變的政府職員聯盟，

began to grow and form.

開始形成並茁壯。

And together we started to implement changes

大家團結起來開始行動，

that impacted the service delivery of our country.

進行影響我們政府服務品質的改變。

The result?

結果呢？

In just two years,

短短兩年時間，

Kenya's ranking moved from 136 to 92.

肯亞的排名從 136 名 上升到 92 名。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

And in recognition of the significant reforms we've been able to implement

為了表揚我們在這麼短的時間

in such a short time,

做出顯著的改革，

Kenya was recognized

肯亞連續兩年

to be among the top three global reformers in the world

受到表揚為全球前三名改革者。

two years in a row.

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Are we fully healthy?

我們完全恢復健康了嗎？

No.

還沒有。

We have some serious work still to do.

我們仍有許多要努力的地方。

I like to think about these two years like a weight-loss program.

我喜歡把這兩年想成是減肥計畫。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

It's that time after months of hard, grueling work at the gym,

在健身房裡努力了好幾個月，

and then you get your first time to weigh yourself,

然後終於第一次量自己的體重，

and you've lost 20 pounds.

發現自己瘦了 20 磅。

You're feeling unstoppable.

你覺得再也沒有什麼可以阻擋自己。

Now, some of you may think this doesn't apply to you.

你們之中有些人 可能認為這與你無關。

You're not from Kenya.

你不是肯亞人、

You don't intend to be an entrepreneur.

你並不想成為企業家。

But think with me for just a moment.

但是請跟我一起思考一下。

When is the last time you accessed a government service?

你上次到政府機關辦事是什麼時候？

Maybe applied for your driver's license,

可能是申請駕照、

tried to do your taxes on your own.

想要自己報稅等等。

It's easy in this political and global economy

在這個充滿政治的全球經濟體中，

to want to give up when we think about transforming government.

當我們希望政府轉型時， 很容易就會想放棄。

We can easily resign to the fact or to the thinking

我們輕易就向現實投降，

that government is too inefficient,

或是認為政府效率太差、

too corrupt,

太腐敗、

unfixable.

無法修復。

We might even rarely get some key government responsibilities

我們甚至很少負起重要的政府責任，

to other sectors,

可能推託給其他部門、

to Band-Aid solutions,

依賴貼 OK 繃的方式，

or to just give up and feel helpless.

或是乾脆放棄覺得無可奈何。

But just because a system is sick doesn't mean it's dying.

一個體制生病並不代表沒救了，

We cannot afford to give up

面對改善政府的挑戰時，

when it comes to the challenges of fixing our governments.

我們責無旁貸。

In the end,

畢竟，

what really makes a government healthy is when healthy cells --

讓政府健全的關鍵， 是所有健康的細胞──

that's you and I --

也就是你我──

get to the ground,

腳踏實地、

roll up our sleeves,

捲起袖管、

refuse to be helpless

拒絕感到無奈，

and believe that sometimes,

然後堅信其實有時候，

all it takes is for us to create some space

我們需要做的只是創造一個空間，

for healthy cells to grow and thrive.

讓健康的細胞能夠成長茁壯。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）