The New Nation - Internet Edition

Dr. Mohammed Nawazish

The present government is about to complete one year of its tenure. The closing year in imperfect democracies generally fizzles out in political fortification and strategy maneuvers for the upcoming election. On this presumption, it has three more solid years to work on schemes it has undertaken or in the pipeline. It necessarily follows that the quicker the election pledges and ancillary functions are taken up, the better for the stakeholders, the people.

Undeniably the government has paced up implementing its scheduled programmes from the very onset. To mention a few, the separation of the judiciary, the finalization of the appeal decision on Bangabandhu murder case, the initiation of the trial of war criminals, the first ever positive efforts to demarcate maritime zones, the firm measures to handle traffic squalor in the capital adopting multiple strategies, the approval of the projects on widening Dhaka-Chittagong highway and constructing the Padma bridge, the bold approach to computerization of the government and monetary activity sectors, the formulation of education policy, the revised pay scales. We are aware that many of these undertakings have invited criticism from different quarters but one would appreciate that however uneven the ball, it has been set to rolling. Further in-depth study and mutual consensus will definitely bring forth acceptable patterns during implementation.

Turning back to the shaded area we are compelled to put huge question marks against some major national issues. The government has already past its adolescence and is fast heading to maturity. But some hard-baked and highly irritating issues continue to persist unabated despite government's high-pitch assurances backed by comparatively mild counter-measures. In broad canvas, we may divide these issues in two parts, everyday social life and the administrative cogwheel. The skyrocketing cost of essential items has been a crushing load on the lower and mid income groups. No measure since adopted by the government to control market anarchy has proved effective. Added to the galloping price, tax and fees and cost of service commodities are on a steady ascending curve while transportation cost squeezes out the last bit of survival residue. Health care facility is in tatters and the prohibiting cost of medicines scares off even the most serious patients. The morbid list may run into volumes.

A fearful spurt in lawlessness and violence in the form of mugging, extortion, robbery, murder, carjacking, land, river and tender grabbing, hooliganism and grisly crimes of all sorts is cutting deep into the base of social and economic life creating a baleful vacuum in security and mental stability among the helpless citizens.

The menacing trend is indicative of a vicious future that lies ahead of us. The government is yet to come down with heavy hands to effectually contain the hardened criminals.

As for the government's pledge to introduce good governance, quite a number of quirky decisions appear to mock the consecrated fundamentals in this field. Politicization of civil service is writ large in every nook and cranny of service ramification, nepotism is running equally high with regard to reemployment, promotion, posting, transfer and placement, and enviable favour being lavishly showered on people's representatives and party flunkies.

Evidently, the high principle of efficiency and impartiality in the civil servants is fast evaporating in thin air. There again are some unfortunate scrappy decisions that cast distrust on the quality and knowledge-base of the persons involved. A senior judge was retired from service and was reappointed in a week on detection of some serious procedural flaw in the process. An unpleasant episode concerning the posting of the law secretary kicked up a nagging discord.

The government has not yet been able to come to a decision on the nature of relation to exist between the member of parliament and the upazila chairman albeit the chairmen countrywide are idling away eversince their election. We hear 17,000 police personnel are going to be recruited soon but one wonders if sufficient homework has been done to ensure gainful utilization of the enormous police force for the benefit of the people. These 'disciplined' members are reportedly often caught in mugging, robbery and anti-social incidents. Good that the nurses are going to get Class-II status, but what happens to the government officials of the same scale belonging to other cadres who are not given the same status? One can't wink at the endless series of killings of Bangladeshis by the BSF along the long borderline. Such incidents by no stretch of imagination can be buckled up with compassionate diplomatic overtures. In short, administrative ineptitude is galore in all sectors but there is little effort to scrub off the filth.

The government has to speedily move forward to take up all pending tasks for careful study and implementation. Good governance demands concerted action by all - the government, the opposition and the people. The parties in parliament will hopefully be inspired by Nietzsche's famous observation, "The growth of wisdom may be gauged accurately by the decline of ill-temper." With a mountain of undone tasks in hand, we can't perhaps afford to follow a path of declining wisdom especially in the vital area of political leadership.

(Dr. Mohammed Nawazish is a freelance columnist and former senior civil servant.)