Lazarus the Financial Wizard 1

Lazarus, name fictitious, established a great reputation as a fund raiser. His innovative methods, the government thought, would help to replenish the treasury, which was empty. The treasury chest remained only a chest without contents. Therefore the government decided to appoint Lazarus as the Financial Wizard with full powers to raise revenue.

The Wizard had the unique advantage of working in a system where many worshipped the icon of incompetence. His boss, Cactus and senior officials also subscribed to this philosophy. Of course, during seminars and conferences, they vociferously argued the case for efficiency and for making organizations competent. However, such exhortations generally ended up with gulping the last item of the dessert, which was the valedictory menu after the conference. Cactus spent lot of funds on the project, without budget provision and in violation of prevailing rules. He sought the opinion of Lazarus who observed that it would invite serious objections from the Auditor General. The boss was of the rank of a minister. He asked him, "Who is the Auditor General. Censure him so that he will remain at home for some months and even years." Lazarus said," We have no authority to censure him since he comes under the control of the federal government." then the minister said," if that is the case you need not". The matter ended there with a hearty laugh for those present.

Lazarus' anxiety to help his staff through unfair and illegal fees manifested in his innovations or self enrichment. Remittance of cash involved a fee known as stamping fee for issue of official receipt. Cashiers under orders from senior officials demanded such fee from the public. With several hundred remittances occurring daily at each cash counter, the stamping fee collected amounted to thousands of dollars per employee. Even for updating entries in the bank pass book, such fees had to be paid. The employees hailed the innovation of Lazarus to raise their status and earnings. During staff meetings, they expressed the view that such officials showing concern for employees should increase in number.

Lazarus had unflinching faith in free enterprise. Everything was sought and obtained free of cost. . The means adopted were branded as enterprise. Right from funding and managing college admissions to wedding of sons and daughters, everything was sponsorship. He identified pockets of influence and money among his business friends and asked them to exchange monetary and other favors against official benefits. The sponsors on his behalf met expenses amounting to thousands of dollars. However one thing appreciated was that he was honest enough not to accept or handle cash in respect of such sponsored events. His philosophy hinged on the principle of making free use of others' resources and facilities any time anywhere and in any manner for personal benefits. (To be continued)