THE REALITY OF ENTERING THE CIVIL SERVICE
By Dr Mujajati Aaron
I was a civil servant for over 14 years and here is what I observed. Before you are appointed to a position, it is natural to believe you will outperform those who came before you. From the outside, the civil service often appears riddled with obvious problems that seem to have straightforward solutions.
You may feel confident that, with fresh energy and clear ideas, you can quickly fix what others have failed to address.
What is less obvious, however, is that most senior civil servants are already acutely aware of the very problems you are noticing. In fact, they often understand these issues at a deeper level than newcomers do. Many of them even have well-considered solutions.
The real puzzle, then, is not whether solutions exist, but why they are so rarely implemented.
The answer lies in the nature of the civil service itself. It is not a place where one individual acts alone. It is a system: complex, layered, and deeply entrenched. If you enter as a lone champion armed with “smart fixes,” you will quickly discover that the culture and machinery of the institution resist sudden change.
The civil service has no single face or name, yet its collective power is undeniable. It is a force that shapes, slows, and sometimes blocks even the most well-intentioned reforms.
For those who have never worked within this system, it is easy to be naive. But once inside, you must learn to be strategic. Success does not come from fighting the system head-on; it comes from understanding its rhythms, its unwritten rules, and its hidden levers of influence.
By learning how the civil service operates, and by working with its structures rather than against them, you can gradually achieve the results you desire. Patience, adaptability, and strategic alliances are the true tools of reform, not just bright ideas. You have heard.
