The New Nation - Internet Edition

The 32-member Council of Ministers headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that took charge on Wednesday has by and large been well received by the people for two reasons. The size of the council has been deliberately kept small and the ministers and state ministers inducted in it are people with clean faces. The emphasis given on honesty of those who would run the affairs of the state has been clearly demonstrated. And this was important against the backdrop of the nearly two years of emergency rule whose main focus was on containing corruption and establishment of good governance.

Sheikh Hasina who has become Prime Minister for the second term in 12 years has clearly shown her maturity gained from her close association with the turn of political events in the country since 1981, in choosing her Cabinet colleagues and ministers of state. What has not escaped the attention of all is the non-inclusion of the senior leaders, the Awami League stalwarts. Many of them were ministers before. Some of them however, face charges of corruption. The option to take in new faces is thus also literally in line with Sheikh Hasina's call for change. At least the people want to believe this.

Some political observers however believe that the Prime Minister could have given more thought on the distribution of some important portfolios. Of course, under the present cabinet system, the government is supposed to function as a team sharing responsibilities collectively. Viewed from this angle the 26 new ministers and state ministers would definitely benefit from the experience of five ministers who had been at the job before and also from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself. The experience of the last 17 years of trial and error with parliamentary democracy suggests that the government may try to encourage the ministers and state ministers to take individual responsibility too of their ministries to give prompt decisions for efficient governance.

The most important role of the present government will be to create an atmosphere of tolerance and decency which is essential for enjoying the benefits of good governance.