[easyfrag]

I think there's 2 reasons: Often times the services are contracted out and those contracts are often subject to "lowest bid wins" rules. It is very difficult to judge a quality like competence especially when there's differing interpretations of purchasing legislation involved.

The other reason is that it is often difficult to fire people in the public sector. I believe it to be due to the impact of unions, which will protect even the most egregious offender out of principle. This builds a culture around being hard to get rid of people, even if it is a non-union position the HR process of dismissal is often the same. For example public bodies often have a lot of employee supports (Employee Assistance programs,etc) and before you dismiss anyone you must allow them to avail of these supports.