Munir Zaman

Corruption occurs at the interface of public and private sector relations and is understood to mean an abuse of public authority for private benefit, be it acquisition of power or of profit. State authority thus plays a decisive role in the presence or absence of corruption.
   It is a common knowledge among the members of the older generation in Bangladesh that corruption at high levels of political authorities as well as bureaucracy was limited or virtually inexistent. What went wrong with the exercise of state authority since then?
   A new separate and independent state had come into being. The event was preceded by war, blood letting, and movement of a large body of people from one place to another in search of safety. State authority had completely broken down. What was left of it was directed to the exercise of brute force with a corresponding popular resistance to it.
   The task for the new state was to re-establish its authority to permit the functioning of an orderly society. However, instead of consolidating the various state institutions badly dented during the liberation struggle, the state proceeded to enlarge its functional responsibilities, acquiring wider command over resources through measures like nationalization of industries, banks and insurance companies, in addition to direct management of industries, business houses and other properties left by the Pakistanis. The limited management capacity related to the expanded area of responsibility created condition for waste and leakage in the use of resources. People with greedy eyes did not fail to see the opportunities for private gains so offered.
   Meanwhile, the institutional capacity for governance had steadily declined. All recruitments to higher bureaucracy which had a tradition of political neutrality, had stopped. In the late seventies, a merit based higher civil service was abolished in the name of administrative reform and replaced by elements drawn from heterogeneous sources. The reform ignored the need for incentive pay, motivation and guaranteeing a politically neutral work environment for the civil service. In the meandering course of a changeable political situation- a parliamentary system, then a one party rule followed by military coup, presidential system, direct army takeover, autocratic rule and then a factious parliamentary system- obviously needed a corps of highly trained politically neutral civil servants who would tender unbiased advice to the political leaders on policy matters and carry on the task of its implementation in accordance with the rules and laws of the land. But this was not to be.
   In a fluid situation, when the laws have been inadequately enforced, acquisition of wealth today becomes for many and insurance of any misfortune tomorrow. For a political leader, this line of reasoning has a special relevance. Samuel Huntington observed that when political power is threatened, as may happen to a leader losing support from important quarters, a politician may use his ill-gotten wealth to buy back support. [1] The emergence of an independent state itself engendered a heightened level of expectations about wider economic opportunities and political participation. While the ill- advised policy of nationalization put a serious restriction to the pursuit of legitimate business activities, the political participation broadened and advanced, as evidenced by the appearances of many new faces in politics.
   Arguing from the other end, a World Bank paper observes that "when political participation advances more rapidly than political institutionalization, political system can become unstable and thus fall a prey to corruption." At an operational level political institutionalization will mean respect for rules, functional autonomy and absence of obstacles to electoral accountability of the political leaders [2]. The personality factor of the leaders overshadowing the political parties, and the stiff refusal to consider any reform agenda even at the risk of splitting a party or further erosion of credibility point to the difficulties of the institutionalization of the political system.
   Corruption in the country is not restricted to higher level of political authority and decision makers, i.e. Head of the Government, Ministers and others holding positions of authority, but exist also at a lower level. Low level corruption is committed routinely by petty officials. The citizens may experience it every now and then at public offices. Public offices established to promote public services. Although committed at a lower level, it may not be proper to regard them as cases of petty corruption, for the total volume of transactions when added up, may be substantial. However, high level corruption is for more damaging in its impact on the society. As the public resources are plundered at will, the interest of the state can be bought or sold making the state substantially dysfunctional.
   If high level corruption in Bangladesh owed its origin to prolonged political instability caused by a mismatch between heightened expectations about economic and political opportunities on one hand and institutional deficiencies on the other, then it probably represents no more than a passing phase. In that event, it will decline as the nation, perhaps through a few more tortuous experiments, builds up a durable structure of a participatory polity ensuring comprehensive accountability of the political authority to the electorate. However, fuller political institutionalization obviously will take time. Here, we are dealing with an impatient nation.
   1. Huntington (1968); quoted in "research on corruption- study initiated by NORAD (December, 2000) P.12
   2. Philip Keefer: "clientalism, credibility and policy choices of young democracies; Development Research Group" (September 2005) P.6
   http://profile-bengal.com

^ TOP OF THIS PAGE ^ MAIN PAGE

Futile road show vis-à-vis poverty

A. M. K. Chowdhury

The Caretaker Government-sponsored 50 days long road show titled 'Esho Bangladesh Gori' started its journey from Panchagar district on June 2, 2008. The road show comprising 15 trucks will travel 55 districts in the 50 days. The trucks are decorated with various slogans which include more production to meet the food deficit, fight corruption, free and fair elections and establish honest leadership.
   Panchagar district administration organised a function marking the formal launching of the road show. Earlier on May 30 Agriculture Adviser had inaugurated the road show in Dhaka jointly organised by Food, Agriculture, Telecommunications, Home ministries, Election Commission and BRTC. The travelling road show trucks will return to Dhaka on 15 July. The road show was arranged to express gratitude to farmers for bumper Boro production this year, encourage them to go for more production next year and cultivate fallow lands, fight out corruption and elect honest candidates in the next election. While road show will pass through districts a fair and cultural show would be arranged to create public awareness to build Bangladesh.
   By this time the road show passed through several districts. Its organisers were given warm reception everywhere. Two decorated elephants were also brought to welcome the road show. The local administration arranged cultural show, fair, colourful rally, discussion meeting and debate competition among students. The organisers and the participants enjoyed the show.
   But this road show creates no public awareness to build Bangladesh. People are already conscious bout building Bangladesh. On the contrary, it creates enjoyment among the organisers and the participants at the expense of taxpayers' money.
   
   Unemployment problem
   Poverty must be reduced first to build Bangladesh. At present about four crore people are below the poverty linel. On priority basis job opportunities shall have to be created. Unemployment problem is increasing day by day. At present there are more than one crore educated and about two crore uneducated unemployed persons in the country. The eviction drive last year threw the hawkers out of work which further complicated the unemployment problem. The hawker communities are leading a very miserable life now.
   It is needless to say that unemployment problem causes increase the criminal activities like hijacking, toll collection, highway robbery, snatching, theft etc.
   To increase agricultural production the farmers should be supplied seeds and fertilisers according to requirement. Irrigation facilities should be improved. The government should finance the farmers under a well-planned scheme to cultivate fallow land.
   Corruption includes bribery, red tape, favouritism in government procurement, politicising of the civil service, toll collection, money laundering, smuggling, import and export through under invoicing and over invoicing etc. Common people like boatmen, fishermen, rickshaw pullers, pushcart drivers, blacksmiths and day labourers are not involved in these corruptions. Only a few affluent people are involved in these corruptions. Our people hate corruption. Corruption is the main impediment to development.
   
   Vocational training
   The country's progress is possible if the unemployed youths do not get employment. Vocational and technical institutions can play a vital role in this respect. The educational institutions should provide job-oriented vocational training for the students who cannot take higher education due to poverty. The institutions can improve technical skills training system and create better wage and employment prospects.
   The vocational education and training programmes should be market-oriented and on short-term basis. The institutions should provide training on top most priority in the three main employment sectors-RMG and textiles, light engineering and construction industries. After training employment or self-employment opportunities can be created in the rural areas too.
   New mills and industries should be set up in sufficient numbers. Bangladesh has all the potentials for economic development and prosperity. With the setting up of small, medium and large scale industries, including motor car manufacturing industries and other entrepreneur ventures, electronic equipment we can provide employment opportunities. Government, semi-government and autonomous bodies should meet the growing demand for jobs.
   
   Load-shedding
   The country incurs a loss of 15, 000 crore per month due to loads-hedding. The garment sector suffers a loss of Tk.3500 crore, the knitwear sector Tk.1050 crore, the textile sector Tk.300 crore, City hotels and restaurants Tk. 30 crore per month. Load-shedding hampers production in mills and factories, irrigation facilities and disrupts water supply in the residential areas causing untold sufferings to the people. The demand for electricity in the country is about 5000 megawatt while the supply is 3500 megawatts. So, there is a shortage of 1500 megawatts on average everyday. It is a great loss of productivity to the nation. To meet up the demand new power generation should be set up.
   Our people do not make mistake to take decisions in elections. This was proved in elections held in the past. Honest leadership can be established through free, fair and acceptable elections.
   It is still fresh in our memory that after the liberation we had valuable assets. This was the 'spontaneous spirit' of the people of all walks of life irrespective of caste and creed to reconstruct the war-ravaged country. The salaries and the wages of the officers and employees of government as well as non-government organisations were curtailed at a certain rate. But none complained of it. Everybody from the executive down to the peon accepted salaries at reduced rate. It was because of that 'voluntary spirit' to rebuild the country that the administration could be run without much problem. But some political leaders and opportunists had destroyed such spirit of the people when they concentrated power in their own hands and started accumulating wealth. At that time no road show was needed for creating public awareness to rebuild the war-ravaged country.
   Unless necessary measures are taken to alleviate poverty, create job opportunities, eradicate corruption, hold free, fair and acceptable elections to elect honest and efficient candidates, boost production, increase power generation, this road show for creating public awareness will be futile. It will be unnecessary wastage of money from the national exchequer. We should realise it.

^ TOP OF THIS PAGE ^ MAIN PAGE

Hero worship

Dear Editor:
   There are only three countries in the world which have 'father of the nation'. They are India, Pakistan and Turkey. Bangladeshi citizens seem to be divided on the question of father of the nation and also as to whose picture should be hung in government offices and other important places.
   First, we may have to decide if we at all need a father of the nation and if so why? The nation was hardly created with the effort of a single person. Rather it was created with collective efforts of many great leaders of the past since 1947. When all the nations of the world -- except three -- can do without a father of the nation then why do we need one? Could it be because of our urge of hero worshipping?
   One option could be the use of the National Flag of proper size in office rooms and applicable monogram/seal/ logo hung in various government offices instead of pictures of a person. Pictures of important people could always be hung at places other than office rooms like libraries, ante rooms etc.
   In the twenty-first century we have to grow and develop even faster to be able to compete and survive. We can hardly afford to waste time in hero worshipping.
   Syed Farhat Ahmad Roomy,
   House No.477, Road No.32,
   New DOHS, Dhaka-1206.

Dear Editor:
   The school is an educational institution offering studies to groups of pupils. Education and learning take place in schools. The content of formal education and who receives it have varied widely in different countries. Passing in the exam is only a quantitative way to measure the education of a student.
   Mere passing is of no use; anyone passes if one gets only 33 per cent marks.
   It is a pity that no students passed from 500 schools in Bangladesh. These should not have the right to exist as schools? Those teachers cannot claim to be teachers at all. If any school does the same thing twice should be closed permanently. And the relevant board must submit an effective report analysing the cause of very bad result including the history and reason of their establishment.
   We need strong Education Ministry which is supposed to be the best and most important ministry of any country.
   Asifami Rahman Saikat
   Dhaka, Bangladesh.

---

Can DU regain its golden days?

Dear Editor:
   The Dhaka University (DU) is now 86 years old. Its main successes are considered its role in the Language Movement and the Liberation War. Independent Bangladesh has turned 37. Now time has come to assess what DU achieved under a sovereign state? Its sphere of research and its indigenous and global applications has to be quantified to evaluate the university's performance in an independent country. In this judgment not much can be said about the DU.
   One can remember that in the golden days of the DU, Prof. S. N. Bose (1894-1974) of physics of the university modified a fluid mechanics theory of Albert Einstein, the famous physicist. The theory is called Bose-Einstein theory after the names of the two co-researchers and pen friend.
   To bring back the glory of DU, teachers' recruitments, promotions and their association elections should be without COLOUR -- pink, blue or white.
   Now it is widely expected by the people that as the oldest and largest university of the country the DU will soon regain its reputation.
   A former student of Dhaka University

---

United Nations: Unveiled

Dear Editor:
   It is a common misconception among the people that United Nations upholding of international law makes it best placed to regulate international relations and solve international conflicts. Muslim world is being deceived to look up to these institutions time and again in the hope that it will act as a saviour from the crises which haunts the Muslim world, such as in Chechnya, Kashmir and the Middle East.
   The UN was founded in 1945 primarily to 'save succeeding generations from the scourge of war'. Since then there have been more then 250 conflicts worldwide, it is patently clear that the UN has been unsuccessful for the purpose it was created for.
   The West as well as many policymakers from the third world consider the UN a non-biased, internationally represented institution boasting nearly 200 member states, who uphold the beacon for the values of internationalism, multilateral action, democracy, pluralism, secularism, compromise, human rights and freedom. This could not be further from the truth.
   The UN in reality is a tool of exploitation where it is manifestly apparent from the inherent structure of the organization that it legitimizes wholesale abuse by the colonialists, the permanent members of the Security Council. Many events have undermined the UN. The invasion of Iraq, the selective application of international law on the State of Israel, the failure to stop the massacre of Serbrenica and ethnic cleansing in Rwanda under its watchful eye.
   In reality the UN is an international organization which the five permanent security members have used as an extension of their foreign policies. Also international law in reality does not exist, only international norms. For international law to exist enforcement must be possible at a global level, supranational level. As this does not exist we must expect nation-states to flout the regulations of the international agencies when it suits them - neo-realism (cf. Waltz. K. 1979. 'A Theory of International Politics'). Hence we find, that the only laws that do happen to be enforced, are those of exploitative capitalism, which are invariably crafted to suite the requirements of and strengthen the capitalist powers. While at the same time the third world lingers, always dependent and in need.
   The Muslim world, should not expect solutions from such an institution, rather it should strive to revive its own system of governance rooted in the Islamic ideology, i.e. the Caliphate. The system which will protect the Muslim world and restore its dignity, thereby liberating people from the clutches of capitalism, which infests the world like a parasite under the disguise of international institutions and international laws.
   Sharique Naeem,
   Lahore, Pakistan.

---

Bill Gates on the right path

Dear Editor:
   Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and Windows, and one of the richest men on earth, has retired from Microsoft, to devote his time to philanthropic social services.
   He was also the inventor of DOS. He is a practical genius in the development of computer technology; and his contributions should encourage the entrepreneurs in the third world countries to render better services to four billion economically handicapped humans through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
   He and his wife are going in the right direction, providing social and financial services and assistance to the poor school students and homes; specially for computer education (such as the USD 100 laptops for school students).
   "The more you give, the more you get". Good wishes to the Bill Gates team.
   Engr A M M A'abad,
   Dhaka.

---

For charity show of autographs

Dear Editor:
   Since the age of twelve years, more than five decades ago, I have been an autograph-hunter. I have already collected more than three thousand autographs (not facsimile) of eminent personalities from home and abroad, and have also received hundreds of letters, written to me, encouraging the hobby, such as Sir Zafrullah Khan, first Pakistani foreign minister and latter the Chief Justice of the International Court of Justice, in the Hague, famous British scholar, politician and Nobel Laureate Lord Bertrand Russell, US President John F. Kennedy, King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia, Famous Negro American Scholar and Nobel Peace Laureate late Dr. Ralph J. Bunche, the late F. Marcos of the Philippines and others.
   Genuine autographs received from India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, last Viceroy Lord Mountbatten, Hollywood's famous film actors the late Walt Diseny and Charlton Huston, some African leaders Dr. Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia and Julius K. Nyerere of Tanganika, six Secretarys-General of the United Nations, more than 50 Nobel laureates Mount Everest-famed Sherpa Tensing and Sir Edmund Hillary, nine British prime ministers including late Lord Clement Attlee, eight American Presidents including Herbert Hoover, Cuban President Dr. Fidel Castro, President Marshal Josep Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, King Zahir Shah of Afghanistan, President General Ibrahim Abboud of Sudan, President General Karim Al-Kassem of Iraq and others.
   I have spent a huge amount of money after this hobby. I have established a strong friendship at home and abroad by this great hobby with patience.
   I am now sixty-eight years old. I am very eager to hold an "International Charity Autographs Exhibition" to aid the deaf, dumb, blind and handicapped people at home and abroad.
   Would the Caretaker Government look into the matter seriously soon?
   Mohammad Anwarul Quadir,
   Mati Manzil,
   Masterpara, Chakdev,
   Naogaon.

^ TOP OF THIS PAGE ^ MAIN PAGE