With the official endorsement of the city corporation elections by the country's Election Commission (EC), the three mayors and councillors are now all set to take up their responsibilities. Leaving behind the avoidable controversy surrounding the election, the elected office-bearers of the city corporations will have to concentrate on the task ahead. The mayors in particular will find it extremely challenging to live up to the promises they made during their election campaign.
By this time the three mayors have been accorded quite a few receptions, a couple of which are very important. While warmly congratulating the mayors on their election, a citizen's committee has reminded them of the need to deliver the goods and mildly cautioned that they would be under watch. If this committee did not try to draw their attention to a particular agenda, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) demonstrated its single-mindedness to focus on a much-maligned practice in the capital and other cities. This concerns the toll collection -an open secret - by the police, bullies and various other organised gangs including unfortunately student groups.
Well, the issue of encroachment of the city's footpath by hawkers or vendors has also come up for discussion. Many suggested that the footpaths were freed from such illegal occupation and alternative arrangements made for the evacuated small traders to continue their trades. Anyone can see it is almost impossible to take any step towards driving hawkers out of the footpath and arrange for alternative livelihoods.
As for the coordination of works the various agencies or utility services undertake, the city corporations can definitely play a positive role but expecting too much out of it will not be very wise. In the past, any such proposal or serious negotiations floundered on the indifference shown or deliberate rebuff dealt by unresponsive ministries and departments. Although, some mayors of the large cities enjoyed the status of a state-minister during their tenures, not all were lucky enough. More importantly, the ministerial status had to be worked out particularly for ceremonial purposes rather than for official empowerment of the position they held.
It is because of this inherent weakness of the office of the mayor anywhere in this country, they cannot exercise power beyond a limited bound. Their wings are clipped right from the beginning so that they have not enough space around them to manoeuvre. It is against this background, the citizens of the two cities will be wise enough to stop fanning their expectation from the elected mayors.
The FBCCI, however, has pointed to a window which can be opened without the risk of getting discredited. None is subjected to illegal toll collection more than the city's traders. The traders' body has knowledge about the nefarious practice from close quarters. Their interest in such a move is directly linked but actually everyone in society has to pay for this illegal practice. An illegal side economy develops leading to black money. Its impact is felt by the common consumers when traders raise the price tags of commodities in order to make up for the money they had to dispense with in the form of illegal toll.
Although the ministry of home affairs is in charge of overseeing matters involving police aberration, the city corporation can play a vital role in deterring the widespread cancerous practice. It is common knowledge that even a betel leaf or fruit vendor at the street corner cannot do business without appeasing musclemen of the locality and also the lineman of the police. This is primarily an issue of law and order but then popular aversion and a strong sense of morality can be enough to check the legal degradation. If the mayors in close cooperation with their councillors intend to act from a moral high ground, the rot can surely be stemmed.
The mayors here cannot get the power city governments in some of the developed countries are delegated. So they will not prevail upon the various agencies serving the city people under different ministries. But here is a different issue involving an illegal practice. If they can at best bargain for some much needed development work, there is no guarantee they will always succeed. They will have to depend on considerations of the ministry concerned. There is no provision for separate fund allocation for development works under the city corporations.
So the suggestion put forward by the FBCCI is one that the mayors should take up with all seriousness. Their power will be derived from the popular support they would enjoy if they embark on a programme of rooting out illegal toll collection. Make it the number one agenda and plead with the ministry of home affairs to cooperate in getting the job done. No ministry can oppose this well intentioned move. If the mayors and councillors stand their ground together against toll collection, no underground element nor men in uniform will dare ask for tolls from traders -small or big.
In this campaign the mayors should also get backing from members of parliament, the majority of whom are from the business class. If rooting out toll collection is made a bird's eye, the campaign has to be spearheaded by the mayors because this will receive unreserved support from all irrespective of their social standing. It can be a starting point to carry out a movement against corruption. Its positive impact on economy will gradually get reflected in the living and livelihoods of the people.
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