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Role of Government in Open Market

WINDOW ON ASIA

Shahed l_atif
ONCE I wrote that Go vernment can do more by doing lea*. Not more of Government but teas of it la a much more important dimension of open markets. Thia is the essence of privatlaauun, decontrol and import liberal! sat Ion. It is necessary to bring the number of functions per formed by the Government today down to the irreducible minimum
Government means control: this has been the heritage of past colonial administration based on lack of mutual trust and confidence. In atleast 80 percent of the cases, files only move from the Section Officer right up to the Secretary and the Minister and most of them simply put their signature agreeing to what have been proposed. All papers must move right up to the top. There is no trust. The seal of approval from the highest quarter must be secured.
It is very difficult, if not impossible, to change the character of any Government within a short period or (for the economist) in the short run; while we expect to generate economic growth without any further loss of time. We cannot wait any longer: after all time Is a non-renewable resource and we have wasted two decades waiting for the government to change. Now we must give up government by forcing it to withdraw from most of the -economic functions; as far as possible.
It is, however, not necessary for the government to undertake a grand clearance sale of all its assets since in many instances the liabilities are overwhelming. Unfortunately. Government cannot undertake a bankrupt sale and the loss making monsters would scare away even the most enterpris tng buyer In sptte of his millions of Taka black or white money. What is Important Is to pass on the management of the enterprises, including utilities, to the private sector. The principle tn this respect should be to sell off as far as desirable, but private management should be Induced to take over the operations of the public sector undertakings as far as possible There Is a good ex ample of Sonargaon and Sheraton hotels which are owned by the government but managed entirely by the private sector. In this connection, Import of foreign management is of utmost Importance which will bring in additional direct foreign Investment.
The Rationale
The rationale for less gov ernment is simple — why should the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation exist at all to run the buses? Private operators are carrying out the same functions and not too badly; in fact better, since they arc not incurring huge losses like the Government run corporation. Similarly, why should the hotels and restaurants should be managed by Parjatan Corporation who instead should concentrate on promotion of tourism and there are plenty to do In this regard. Biman, Railways, Steamer services. Inland and vessels be longing to the Shipping Corporation should be either sold to or managed, as deemed appropriate, by private sector. The entire telecommunication system of the country should be tn private hands which the Erevious government tried but illcd due to successful intervention by the vested Interests, fn fact if Radio, Television and newspapers are all run by the private sector then the openness sought for the open economy can be ensured much better.
Thus. In every sphere, if ownership or management docs not belong to the Government then the role of government as buyer or seller of goods and services would automatically decline. On the other hand, a strong corporate sector will emerge who must survive In the open market. No government subsidy would be available to bail them out. year after year.
The diminished role of Government would Imply that the number of life-long guaranteed Jobs of no work and all play would also be reduced considerably. If the policy of less government is pursued in all earnest, then not only new recruits may not be necessary for the next few years, there should instead be a well managed programme of retrenchment and retraining to make the redundant personnel
able for the newly emerging corporate sector • where salaries are likely to be much better against, of course, better quality and greater quantity of work performed
These days government Is often the major, sometimes the only, source of new Jobs. It is also the dominant buyer of goods and services in the country, being engaged in all sorts of activities — from operating restaurants to giant fertiliser factories. Hcncc the private sector is substantially dependent on the government for business opportunities. When less government is achieved, tenders would vanish.
As mentioned before. Government means control. The bureaucratic culture that wc have developed has consistently nurtured a tremendous charm and fascination of the power and authority bestowed on the individual government functionary who never for once allowed himself to think that he Is basically public servant and his actions arc all supposed to be in the interest of public service, mentioned as a routine In all government orders. During the colonial period. the goal of administration was maintenance of law and order, administration of justk-e and collection of revenue; though not necessarily fn that order. The advent of the compulsions for development has implied that Government as sume more control ar*d interfere with the economy of the country. Unfortunately, in its over anxiety for national dcvcl opment. Government might be doing more harm than good.
Lack of Trust
Less government is also necessary because bureaucracy, following colonial traditions, trusts Itself and nobody else Britishers in British India could not trust anybody efee because everybody else was not a British. Our Bangladeshi bu reaucrats cannot trust anybody else because everybody else is not a bureaucrat. The old Civil Service bureaucrats or the Engineers. Doctors etc, constitute closed chibs of particular discipline or profession and In all cases their primary aim is self-perpetuation. Thus with every government project, a bureaucratic apparatus Is set up and within a few years the project is never completed while the apparatus tends to assume a more or less permanent character. The staff work ing for the project then lose sight of the original Intentions and their tireless efforts arc concentrated on self retention.
Wc have unique Government wh^re nobody loses his Job for not working. The fish seed multiplication farms may be
producing all sorts 01 Irving organisms except the desired fishes. or the functions of BADC might have been handed over to the private sector but the bureaucratic apparatus remain intact
Government attitudes would change when the basic economic structure has under gone a fundamental change through rapid economic growth. To do so through market liberalisation after bureaucracy has undergone a total reorientation is putting the cart before the horse it simply can not be done. Economic development at the desired scale would come through diminished government control since an open government in the short run is Just not feasible. Under the circumstances, the best way to solve the problem seems to be to avoid tt.
The diminished role of thj*> government can come through It if the political leadership Is A determined to do so It is their responsibility — an authority outside the bureaucracy. But to expect the bureaucracy to behave tn an altogether different manner is asking for the Moon. Only when the role of bureaucracy has been cut down through privatisation and as a countervailing power, and .simultaneously a strong corporate sector has been developed. the new role of the government bureaucracy to be responsive and open to the open market would inevitably follow Let us not ask for the Moon — let us enable the Moon to come down wlthtn our reach, through tts diminished size and role.