Bureaucracy in Action

One of the pastimes of the GF team, is to observe BIA – Bureaucracy In Action – an oxymoron if ever there was one, for “action” rarely results from bureaucracy.

As we have crossed borders – Jamaica/USA, USA/South Africa, South Africa/USA and now USA/Jamaica – I note the many instances of BIA that have me wondering – what’s the purpose of all this?

For example:
Why does Immigration in most countries insist on having us fill out long forms? The pertinent information is already in your passport, and all the Immigration officer does is to re-enter it into his/her computer, after having checked that we have completed the form “accurately”. He/she could do so directly from the passport – save them and us time and a few trees as well! It was such a pleasure to clear South African Immigration formless – all they needed were our passports. Went quickly and easily
Why does Immigration ask us for our intended address? We could put anything and they would be none the wiser. It really irks me when Jamaican Immigration insists on knowing my intended whereabouts, for as a citizen of Jamaica, I am free to go wherever I wish – without their knowledge or permission!
Then, those “Nothing to Declare” lines at Customs – if we have nothing to declare, then why do we have to fill up a form to say so? And worse, why do they have to check the form and ask us the questions all over? In South Africa there was no form, so we simply walked out of Customs! They have figured out that it is much more efficient to check people at random
On experiencing this absence of forms, and simplified procedures at South African Customs and Immigration, we made the mistake of thinking that this country has got it right. Wrong – for in changing our currency we were met by a barrage of forms (four to change traveller’s cheques in a bank!), the same information repeated on each form, and multiple signatures to indicate – what?

The problem with bureaucracy is that what started out as a means to some necessary end becomes the end itself. I once dared to ask a Jamaican Immigration Officer why they needed to know my intended address. His response? “You just have to fill up the form”.

Today, question every step in your processes at work. Chances are, many of them are redundant. Save some time, save some paper, save some money and most importantly, save yourself and others the agony of useless work!