Statements in Meeting with the President and Cabinet Members on the Occasion of Government Week

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

First, we honor the memory of our dear martyrs, whose names are commemorated this week and these days—namely, Martyr Rajaei and Martyr Bahonar. These two devoted individuals should always be remembered as unforgettable figures in the history of our government and revolution. I hope that, God willing, all of us, wherever we are and whatever responsibilities we bear, can fulfill the needs of the time with sincerity, appropriate effort, initiative, and revolutionary movement. It is necessary to congratulate the dear brothers of the Cabinet on this week, which is presented to the people as Government Week and is, in truth, a celebration of the government.

Thanks be to God, today the government enjoys great advantages; it is a popular and faithful government, where the movement and efforts of each of its members are based on sincere and genuine belief and faith; a government that truly cares for the people and seeks to work for them. We clearly observe this in your work and see that you genuinely feel the people's pain and are eager to serve the deprived. These advantages are exceptional among governments today.

If it were not that this is one of God's blessings upon the Iranian nation and all of us, which must be acknowledged and for which we must be grateful, it might not be appropriate for me to say these things in your presence; however, the issues are not personal. In this matter, we are less confronted with you as individuals, but rather with the service-oriented nature that one observes in you. This is valuable and truly worthy of gratitude.

In our past history, it is rare to find a group of officials like today's. When we say rare, we want to be cautious; otherwise, I truly do not know of any. A president with these characteristics, virtues, and background, and colleagues and ministers with this religious, faithful, and revolutionary demeanor, truly have no precedent in our past history, and as far as I know, there is nothing like it elsewhere either—though I do not claim complete knowledge, as we are not informed of the situation of all governments.

Perhaps our people are not yet fully aware of the inner workings of the responsible brothers in the government. Of course, they have heard and know something, but the specifics that those familiar with the members of the government can know and understand, certainly some of the people do not know, and some do not believe. For example, if it is said to the people that among Mr. Hashemi's ministers—according to what I have heard—there is a minister who, if the installments he must pay are deducted from his monthly salary, is left with 2400 tomans, do they really imagine that among the officials of a government—those who have access to public funds and resources—there are people who live and spend in such a manner? These are valuable things, and we thank God for having you and ask God to always keep you successful in the path of goodness and righteousness. Today, the nation needs sincere and tireless servants; do not tire of work.

There are two or three points in executive work that, although you are aware of these points, there is no harm in reminding them:

The first point is supervision over this collection that you are in charge of. This bureaucratic machine is a strange thing. You and I, who have ten or twelve years of executive experience, have not yet understood bureaucracy. We know bureaucracy from the words of others—those who describe the great, well-known fifty-year, sixty-year, and hundred-year bureaucracies—which in many cases also apply to our situation. This executive machine, while being an indispensable apparatus, if not monitored, will become a dangerous thing. This supervision is what can easily and quickly lead you to your goals. Without the executive apparatus and your hands, you cannot reach any goal; at the same time, this machine, as long as it wills, can prevent you from reaching the goal you are pursuing; it depends on how your composition and, more importantly, your supervision over this collection is. If you supervise it, it will be at your disposal; if you neglect it, you will be at its disposal; no matter how good you are, you will not be able to handle it.

There may be a well-established policy that has been repeatedly emphasized for implementation, and the relevant manager—the minister and many of the hierarchy—has signed and executed it; but only one person can prevent its implementation. Those of you who have been in executive work for some time will confirm this. Anyone who has dealt with the executive apparatus will confirm this; that is, those who refer to the executive apparatus understand this. It is something that the minister wanted, the government wanted, it was ordered, the water was poured from there and is being pumped, but from this pipe and this vast canal, no water comes out! In the middle, there is a pebble in someone's shoe that has blocked this canal; the remedy is only your supervision.

We cannot say choose everyone well; because can you set a criterion and then match a thousand, two thousand, ten thousand of your colleagues from beginning to end with that criterion? Is such a thing possible? Now, assuming you matched them, do good people always remain good? Do temptations not affect good people? So, what guarantees is that you spend time on supervision.

If a senior manager divides his time, perhaps it can be said that he should spend half of his time supervising his apparatus, and half on other tasks; thinking, policymaking, giving orders, holding meetings, and the like. Supervision over this apparatus means being constantly present; sir, what are you doing? What happened to this work? Follow-up is also part of that supervision. This is a point that needed to be mentioned. I ask the gentlemen to take this matter seriously.

Of course, as Mr. Hashemi pointed out, I have fully felt the difficulties of executive work and know that this is your major problem. There are many things you want to do, but it cannot be done.

The second point is to pay attention to reports and be sensitive to them. One must develop a sense that when a report comes, they can smell the point of truth in it, or at least be highly capable of doing so.

Every manager must place his subordinates under his protective umbrella; otherwise, they cannot work; but this defense of a colleague—which is a very commendable and good tradition—should not prevent you from seriously addressing a report against that colleague.

If you do these things, the executive apparatus will be reformed, and all these administrative and employment prescriptions and instructions, which are often not implemented and for several years now we have been working continuously on the administrative and employment issue and still have not achieved anything proper, will no longer be necessary, or most of them will not be necessary. In my opinion, the most effective prescription is that you be present everywhere and deal with all violations with sensitivity; this is an important point.

The third point is to try to instill the sincerity and camaraderie that exists in you into the main officials of the apparatus. You, who are ultimately recognized and have passed through several filters of this apparatus, everyone has approved of you being here, and thanks be to God, your work, as far as I have known and understood, has confirmed the correctness of those approvals; but once we step one step beyond you, those filters no longer exist; only one filter exists, and that is you yourselves.

Efforts should be made to be very careful about this selection. At higher levels, seek out the faithful and sincere forces. Of course, this does not mean the famous debate of 'expertise or commitment'; no, the discussion is about the capable and knowledgeable. We do not say go to a mosque and see who worships better, bring him; no, among those who have the ability to work, look for the element of piety, commitment, and sincerity and place him at the head of the work, so that the inner circle and close group to you can always gain your trust and you can get the work done.

Of course, many of the issues that should be considered in the set of governmental apparatuses have been discussed among us before and do not need repetition. The most important issue of our apparatus and the Islamic Republic system—which all of these are in service and in the direction of—is the same thing that we all believe in and have said many times; that is, striving to eliminate poverty and deprivation in society, and supporting and helping the oppressed and deprived classes. We must truly measure the correctness of programs by this and pursue this issue and place other tasks in subsequent priorities. Tasks related to the deprived and oppressed classes of society—which are numerous—truly and justly require a fundamental movement.

Thanks be to God, the government has good plans; the people have understood in the statements of the gentlemen; and more than what you say, work is being done; I also emphasize that you should tell the people a little about the work that has been done, so they know. Of course, do not say the work that is supposed to be done as much as possible, except for those that will definitely be done. But it is good to tell the people about the work that is being done, so that the people become hopeful and the counter-revolution cannot sow seeds of despair among the people.

Thanks be to God, good plans are being carried out; but perhaps with initiative, some work can be accelerated. Suppose you determine that some sectors are of extraordinary importance, give them a special priority for a certain period. For example, the agricultural sector in our system is truly one of the very high-priority sectors. I still do not know whether the necessary priority is given to this sector, and whether the work that should be done in this sector is being done completely and one hundred percent or not.

In any case, this work must be done. Suppose we allocate six months or a year for all apparatuses to be overshadowed by agriculture; industry should serve agriculture; oil money should serve agriculture. That is, we should set this agricultural apparatus in rapid motion, then leave it to its own devices, so that with the achievements it will have from this movement, it can continue its work; then move on to another sector. With planning, this can be done. Suppose the road sector, the education sector, the fundamental and infrastructural sectors of the country, we give priority to each and concentrate plans in that sector, and such things. Of course, these are things that are subject to review. Experts and specialists should review these and see. In any case, we ask Almighty God to help you and give you strength of heart.

Today, the volume of arrogant demonstrations is very high, and the cries of the enemies of nations and the enemies of Islam are louder than ever. You all observe the situation and dominance of America over global issues—or let us say America's interference in global issues. Nations in many parts of the world become disillusioned and disheartened by the situation of their officials and governments. This very issue of Palestine, which America has now taken the lead in, is truly a great tragedy for Muslims everywhere in the world, especially in the Middle East region.

In the face of these drunken and aggressive demonstrations, somewhere the authenticity of human will and the presence of courage and bravery arising from firm belief must show itself. Currently, the Islamic Republic, thanks be to God, has this capacity and courage and this enjoyment of the general trust of nations. The more confident you are and the more courageously you work—in all fields; whether political, economic, technical, and others—the more the enemy will be isolated and weakened and will fall further from its goals.

God willing, may God help all of you; may your work be subject to the satisfaction and prayers of His Holiness the Master of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him); and may the blessed spirit of the Imam of the Nation be pleased with all of you.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings