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OPINION

Political will for development

MOHAMMED IMAM UDDIN
BANGLADESH is a country with enormous potential. Endowed with natural resources it also has excellent human resources. We have opted for a democratic way of governance for our progress. So the commitment of our political parties to the fundamentals of democracy is of paramount importance. Political parties publish their manifestos before elections, in which their policies and aims are spelt out as
commitments to the nation. Needless to say, it is important for our political parties to translate their commitments into realities on assuming power. Hong Kong and Singapore provide examples of how corruption can be checked and good governance ensured, honoring the execution of political commitments.
Three out of ten respondents singled out political parties as the institution from which they would like to eliminate corruption if they were given a magic wand, according to the
Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer, a new survey of the general public in 47 countries on all continents. Bangladesh was not included. It was released from Berlin on 3 July this year.
Political parties were revealed in 33 of the countries surveyed to be the institution from which citizens would most like to eliminate corruption. This preference was most acutely expressed in Argentina and Japan, where more than half of all respondents picked political parties. The courts were
identified by one in seven respondents worldwide, most notably in Peru and Indonesia. The police were singled out by one in nine respondents worldwide, and by one in three in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Mexico and Nigeria. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia and Poland, one in five selected medical services.
Politics in Bangladesh has increasingly become confrontational and unstable. Political parties have boycotted the Parliament that they are not being given fair time to talk and all
unable to bring their motions. Parliament is not functioning properly. It is seen from the ParliamentWatch report of TIB that Taka 2 crore 35 lakh 35 thousand was wasted during the 4th, 5th and 6th sessions of 8th parliament due to lack of quorum. The Parliament is likely to be effective and the parliamentary system strengthened if the members of parliament could play the role of law-makersin the real sense.
Corruption discourages local as well as foreign investments and reduces the availability of resources for improving the quality of life. As the
scope of corruption widens the authority of the state is undermined and threatened. As a consequence the ability of government to take sound decisions and implement them is seriously affected. In a country like Bangladesh where there is a clear link between political corruption and bureaucratic corruption, which has a way of increasing in benign neglect, determined remedial action is necessary.
In various countries of the world political parties, whose number is usually small in any case, play a
cooperative role in development through properly practicing democracy. In the west almost all politicians enjoy the trust of the people and the former are perceived to be working in the public interest. In a mature democratic system the leadership not only faces criticism but also commands respect. Such a political climate speaks of a proper democratic mentality. Our own political culture is mostly devoid of tolerance and courtesy nowadays.
The present state of politics has
led to an erosion of commitment of the political leaders to bring about the needed changes such as administrative reform, strengthening of watchdog agencies and strengthening of institutional checks and balances to curb corruption.
The welfare and protection of the interest of the country and the people should be uppermost in the minds of politicians.
Mohammed Imam Uddin is Outreach Relations Officer, Transparency International Bangladesh