PERC's recommendations
Wednesday, 29 August 2007
Successive governments in Bangladesh have tended to set up special commissions and committees to indicate that special issues and needs from the perspective of the public or national interest would be explored by these bodies and the recommendations made by them would be implemented to promote such interests. Thus, many committees were formed during the last thirty-five years of the country's existence and these bodies produced an equal number of reports, including the vital recommendations.
If these reports were all promptly studied and the suggestions in them carried out earnestly, then much positive qualitative changes in governance could be experienced. But it is ironical that governments help in the creation of such commissions and committees with much fanfare, employ considerable manpower and resources for their functioning, but never use the findings of the committees and commissions for which these are created in the first place.
The same has been the fate of the Public Expenditure Review Commission (PERC) which started its functioning with much interest and publicity some years ago . It completed its work in 2003 and submitted the report along with its recommendations to the government. It made valuable recommendations such as downsizing of the Cabinet, merger of different government owned corporations and closure of redundant governmental organisations. But many of the PERC's suggestions -- like many others before it -- were not implement and hardly anything substatially good in nature came from it.
Now that the interim government has resurrected hope by doing good works to improve conditions in many areas of national life, it should also take up the implementation of the PERC' s recommendation with enthusiasm.
Ashraf Ali Tarafdar
Rampura, Dhaka
If these reports were all promptly studied and the suggestions in them carried out earnestly, then much positive qualitative changes in governance could be experienced. But it is ironical that governments help in the creation of such commissions and committees with much fanfare, employ considerable manpower and resources for their functioning, but never use the findings of the committees and commissions for which these are created in the first place.
The same has been the fate of the Public Expenditure Review Commission (PERC) which started its functioning with much interest and publicity some years ago . It completed its work in 2003 and submitted the report along with its recommendations to the government. It made valuable recommendations such as downsizing of the Cabinet, merger of different government owned corporations and closure of redundant governmental organisations. But many of the PERC's suggestions -- like many others before it -- were not implement and hardly anything substatially good in nature came from it.
Now that the interim government has resurrected hope by doing good works to improve conditions in many areas of national life, it should also take up the implementation of the PERC' s recommendation with enthusiasm.
Ashraf Ali Tarafdar
Rampura, Dhaka