Poor and faltering decisions hurting government's mage
Monday, 12 April 2010
Shamsher Chowdhury
FREQUENT changes in government's decision making process is not only hurting its image but also widening the gap of trust between the government and the people. It is also reflective of the poor level of professionalism within the various operatives of the government, from the highest level to the lowest. To my mind this is also reflective of lack of communication and coordination between policymakers and implementers within its framework of administration. As I see it, apparently this is also due to the fact that the present administration is unduly centralised with power and authority often concentrated in the hands of some select group of individuals. To this extent I would like to refer to the ongoing discontent that has emerged between the Papilla Chairmen and the treasury bench members with regard to the most vital issue of administering the development works -- the administration of the rural areas in general. I believe this matter, in days to come will be further complicated putting in question the very image of the government with regard to its commitment to democracy and democratic practices.
Look at the summersault with the DST. It was introduced, causing unprecedented miseries to the people. Initially made effective through March 31, later the whole matter was shelved due to what the administration said was, "in view of the problems faced by the members of the public". I believe in between there was yet another directive which I cannot remember now. The directives apparently failed to achieve its objectives. On the contrary, the net result was unprecedented sufferings for the people. One has to go through the media reports to see the extent of sufferings people had to undergo. Thank God that the directive has finally been withdrawn once for all. Needless to say that the whole matter was ill advised, ill conceived and ill executed.
We all know about the pitiable state of power supply and power generation. Here too a similar situation persists. First this business of hourly power load shedding, then resorting to two-hour system and now again returning to one hour system. This has not only sufficiently confused the people but also the effect of "adding insult to injury". The most bizarre and absurd one was the directive issued by the Chairman of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission that air conditioners at government offices and various establishments should not be used during peak hours excepting hospitals, restaurants etc., starting from 6 to 11 pm. The most shocking part of the directive was shutting off of air conditioners at private residences with the added stipulation that anyone found not complying with the directive shall be penalised by a fine of taka two thousand and may even have to go to jail.
From day one I knew that this directive is going to nose-dive. I believe that is what has happened. What was most annoying about this directive is that I found it to be highhanded, dictatorial and interfering with the basic rights of the people. As much as it is true that much of the problems in the power sector are inherited, it is also evident that the authorities concerned so far have failed to show any real wisdom in handling the issue either I find it absurd that over 16 months have passed but the government is yet to finalise awarding contract to private power companies through the regular process of tenders. .If I am correct only the other day I saw in a news report that in one stroke the cabinet had cancelled six power contracts either finalised or about to be finalised.
A similar scenario exists with regard to the water supply situation. It is even worse in the sense that considerable measures could have been taken to improve the situation within the past sixteen months too. To my estimation unlike the power situation the anomalies that currently exist in the water sector can also be attributed to in-house malpractices that exist in WASA itself. Besides unlike power, the magnitude of the water scarcity is restricted more to the capital city than other parts of the country.
There is much to be said about the ever deteriorating state of law and order all over the country. Yet all that the government is able to come up with is that "the present state of law order situation is not only better but well under control" -- simply a distortion of truths and nothing short of lies. While we are on the subject I would also cite this business of the concerned minister presenting a list of high profiled criminals on the very floor of the Parliament that was not only ill prepared to say the list but also contained names of dead ones.
Concluding remarks: These and many more are badly hurting the image of the government This has not only put in jeopardy the very image of government's accountability and transparency of operations but also damaged its overall credibility. It is high time for the administration to do some serious soul searching if it is to put its lost image back on track. May I also humbly make this observation that there is an urgent need to decentralise power and authority now vested in the Prime Minister's Office. I fail to understand as to why none other than the PM has to frequently deliberate and give directives on such issues of routine administration like DST, schedule of power load shedding so on and so forth.
Besides, the CEO of the administration must also take to task non- performing key members of her administration.
I would like to conclude this short commentary, raising two more issues that I believe are also hurting the image of the government. First, it is high time that it draws the curtain on blame and name changing games and talking too much too often on too many contentious and sensitive issues too early that continue to backfire. Second this business of ghost hunting of rival political parties' purely borne-out rivalries and jealousies must come to an end.
The writer can be reached at e-mail: chowdhury.shamsher@yahoo.com
FREQUENT changes in government's decision making process is not only hurting its image but also widening the gap of trust between the government and the people. It is also reflective of the poor level of professionalism within the various operatives of the government, from the highest level to the lowest. To my mind this is also reflective of lack of communication and coordination between policymakers and implementers within its framework of administration. As I see it, apparently this is also due to the fact that the present administration is unduly centralised with power and authority often concentrated in the hands of some select group of individuals. To this extent I would like to refer to the ongoing discontent that has emerged between the Papilla Chairmen and the treasury bench members with regard to the most vital issue of administering the development works -- the administration of the rural areas in general. I believe this matter, in days to come will be further complicated putting in question the very image of the government with regard to its commitment to democracy and democratic practices.
Look at the summersault with the DST. It was introduced, causing unprecedented miseries to the people. Initially made effective through March 31, later the whole matter was shelved due to what the administration said was, "in view of the problems faced by the members of the public". I believe in between there was yet another directive which I cannot remember now. The directives apparently failed to achieve its objectives. On the contrary, the net result was unprecedented sufferings for the people. One has to go through the media reports to see the extent of sufferings people had to undergo. Thank God that the directive has finally been withdrawn once for all. Needless to say that the whole matter was ill advised, ill conceived and ill executed.
We all know about the pitiable state of power supply and power generation. Here too a similar situation persists. First this business of hourly power load shedding, then resorting to two-hour system and now again returning to one hour system. This has not only sufficiently confused the people but also the effect of "adding insult to injury". The most bizarre and absurd one was the directive issued by the Chairman of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission that air conditioners at government offices and various establishments should not be used during peak hours excepting hospitals, restaurants etc., starting from 6 to 11 pm. The most shocking part of the directive was shutting off of air conditioners at private residences with the added stipulation that anyone found not complying with the directive shall be penalised by a fine of taka two thousand and may even have to go to jail.
From day one I knew that this directive is going to nose-dive. I believe that is what has happened. What was most annoying about this directive is that I found it to be highhanded, dictatorial and interfering with the basic rights of the people. As much as it is true that much of the problems in the power sector are inherited, it is also evident that the authorities concerned so far have failed to show any real wisdom in handling the issue either I find it absurd that over 16 months have passed but the government is yet to finalise awarding contract to private power companies through the regular process of tenders. .If I am correct only the other day I saw in a news report that in one stroke the cabinet had cancelled six power contracts either finalised or about to be finalised.
A similar scenario exists with regard to the water supply situation. It is even worse in the sense that considerable measures could have been taken to improve the situation within the past sixteen months too. To my estimation unlike the power situation the anomalies that currently exist in the water sector can also be attributed to in-house malpractices that exist in WASA itself. Besides unlike power, the magnitude of the water scarcity is restricted more to the capital city than other parts of the country.
There is much to be said about the ever deteriorating state of law and order all over the country. Yet all that the government is able to come up with is that "the present state of law order situation is not only better but well under control" -- simply a distortion of truths and nothing short of lies. While we are on the subject I would also cite this business of the concerned minister presenting a list of high profiled criminals on the very floor of the Parliament that was not only ill prepared to say the list but also contained names of dead ones.
Concluding remarks: These and many more are badly hurting the image of the government This has not only put in jeopardy the very image of government's accountability and transparency of operations but also damaged its overall credibility. It is high time for the administration to do some serious soul searching if it is to put its lost image back on track. May I also humbly make this observation that there is an urgent need to decentralise power and authority now vested in the Prime Minister's Office. I fail to understand as to why none other than the PM has to frequently deliberate and give directives on such issues of routine administration like DST, schedule of power load shedding so on and so forth.
Besides, the CEO of the administration must also take to task non- performing key members of her administration.
I would like to conclude this short commentary, raising two more issues that I believe are also hurting the image of the government. First, it is high time that it draws the curtain on blame and name changing games and talking too much too often on too many contentious and sensitive issues too early that continue to backfire. Second this business of ghost hunting of rival political parties' purely borne-out rivalries and jealousies must come to an end.
The writer can be reached at e-mail: chowdhury.shamsher@yahoo.com