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Speeding up the administration

A.B.M.S.Zahur
THE AL-led government has come to power with a lofty election manifesto, but it is facing hassles from the start. This is not surprising, because it has inherited the huge errors, omissions and poor governance of the 4-party rule and some commission of mistakes of an unrepresentative, unaccountable and semi-military caretaker government.
No doubt the AL chief has taken a risk in choosing some inexperienced (but reported to be clean and dynamic) members of parliament as ministers to bring dynamism and speed to attain her dream of "Digital Bangladesh."
. Surely, we appreciate Sheikh Hasina’s attempt to push Bangladesh from its present low rank to a midlevel country rank. She has wisely sought assistance and cooperation from the opposition. Unfortunately, she has not yet received it. Instead, criticism about some of her steps has started within two months of the formation of the new government.
Neutrally speaking, it is not proper to
expect smooth running from a government that is facing crisis after crisis. However, better options may be available. Thus, we need not be frustrated. It is a common knowledge that more works mean more possibility of mistakes and less work means less possibility of mistakes.
Sheikh Hasina is dissatisfied with the speed of work of the government. The last caretaker government (2007-08) was also unhappy with the performance of the bureaucracy. After its initial period, the caretaker government had to accept the reality and worked with a bureaucracy more sympathetic toward BNP and Jamaat. It is said that its performance would have been better had there been a neutral bureaucracy.
The caretaker government had limited scope forward. It was not elected. It was unaccountable. It could think of only starting a work. It need not have bothered about the ultimate end of the projects. In the case of the AL-led government it is different. As an elected government it has not only to pick up right projects,
it also has to think and work rightly to finish as many as possible.
The AL regime of 1996-2001 was more occupied with reestablishing the AL ideology’ in a rather unfriendly environment. This time, the AL-led government aims at pushing Bangladesh to a great height within 5-10 years. To attain this the government needs rapid implementation of projects relating to critical needs of the people.
This needs, in turn, an efficient, loyal and committed bureaucracy. How to obtain such a bureaucracy is a big headache for the new government. It is clear that mere patchwork or some spectacular decisions cannot help in achieving it. A well thought out plan is necessary.
Due to relativel lack of experience and weakness in coordination the new government is facing some administrative problems. This needs careful handling of the bureaucracy as far as possible, until the new cabinet members become more conversant with policies and their implementation.
It cannot be assumed that merely pressuring the secretaries of minis-tries/divisions will speed up the work. The presumption that pro-BNP or pro-Jarnaat workers will not work properly under the AL regime is not based on strong grounds. When government servants are free to caste their votes they need not be discriminated against in matters of work.
We are shocked to learn that, without caring much about consequence, some politicians in the new government are seriously disturbing the administration. This has resulted in transfer of 4 additional inspectors general, 9 deputy inspectors general and 42 superintendents of police, transfer of an officer thrice in month, and retention of some judicial officers in the executive etc.
It is true that we do not have adequate number of honest and efficient officers, but such officers must be utilised properly. It appears advisable for new government to distribute them, particularly in the field level. The police will have to be carefully handled so that they can effectively control the emergence of Islamic militants and the law’ and order situation. This needs patience and firmness.
Like other democracies, our elected representatives decide policy. As such, we need a large and expert permanent public service. The latter can be neutral servants of any government, because they will be concerned with devising the best way to reach the objectives determined by the people's representatives.
It appears to be advisable for the new government to get as much work as possible from the bureaucrats and, where necessary, place those under close examination. The government maybe polite but firm with bureaucrats.
A B M S Zahur is a former Joint Secretary