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How much leave does a minister need?

Shahedul Anam Kiian
The fact that a very important ministry is functioning without a minister for the last seven days compels me to ask how much leave a person holding public office needs, or indeed how long can a government afford to keep one of its important ministries without a minister.
The Grand Alliance government has just completed six months in office. And naturally various quarters including the media have come out with reports evaluating its failure and achievements. Certainly, six months is too little a time to make a value judgment on a government's performance. But morning shows the day and we would like to get a sense of things to come from how the government has done so far to live up to its promise of "change." (However, we know very well that the adage does not apply to Bangladesh since things may turn for the better or worse come evening).
The assessments we have come across in the media very much reflect the evaluators' points of view of various issues, and
matters such as a ministry without its ministers or out of turn comment of some ministers, have come up as negative factors in public evaluation.
One wonders whether the AL, in particular Sheikh Hasina, was able to comprehend the magnitude of its victory and the huge mandate it was given. One wonders too whether it had realised the signifi cance of the percentage of vote gained by the BNP led 4 Party Alliance in spite of the number ofscats it was able to win.
The greatest surprise that Hasina sprung on the nation was the selection of her cabinet, where all but a few were absolutely new to the job. Not surprisingly, the old guards were left out, to teach a lesson, according to some political observers, to those who had dared to upstage Hasina during her incarceration.
Sheikh Hasina was taking a great risk, and the media did not fail to point that out. But the public was willing to give her the benefit of doubt, hoping that their apprehensions would be proved wrong.
However, at this point in time there will perhaps be very few who would not agree that the performance of some of the min-
isters might have been better than what we have seen. No wonder there is a move afoot to reshuffle the cabinet and add to its size of. Quality and not quantity is what the PM should go for.
One feels too that that the government has been hard done by, by some of the garrulous ministers. There is a perfectly good rationale for God endowing us with two ears and one mouth. But alas, very few of us care to understand the significance of the arrangement, and of the few that do, many choose to ignore it. Regrettably, we find this propensity in those that are hold ing public office, particularly a few ministers whose injudicious and untimely remarks on topical issues must have caused the government a great deal of embarrassment.
What is more perplexing is that comment of one minister on a very important matter is invalidated by another, exposing an utter lack of consensus in the cabinet on the issue.
One would expect ministers and government spokespersons to exchange notes on important subjects, even more so when those relate to foreign policy, before going public. It appears that due emphasis is not accorded to what the public view as critical concerns.
What our public office holders tend to forget is that once they take the oath of office they can neither indulge in loud thinking nor afford to make personal opinions public even though the opinion may be extremely rational, as one minister
chose to do very recently, only to be snubbed indirectly by one of her colleagues the very next day.
The home ministry is without both its ministers for the last one week. No ministry can function fully in such a state. The minister sustained an injury that necessitated her treatment abroad while the state minister has been very lucky to have been granted more than fifty days leave abroad on two installments in the last six months.
He obviously considers his presence in the country at this time less important. It was shocking to see him take his time returning home after the BDR carnage. A great statesman had said that public office is a public trust, and when a person assumes a public trust he should consider himself as public property.
I wonder whether anyone can say as to what a minister's yearly leave entitlement is, but certainly in Bangladesh no public servant can afford nearly twomonth leave in only six months in office, except under very extraordinary circumstances. And we are not aware of any compelling situation that had prevented the state minister from immediately assuming office after the BDR incident, or is preventing him from doing so now knowing fully well that the home ministry is without a minister. If this is not lack of commitment then what is.
Bng Gen Shar*dui Anam Khan ndc, psc (retd), s Ed-tor, Defence & Strategic Affairs, The Daily Star
***I wonder whether anyone can say as to what a minister's yearly leave entitlement is, but certainly in Bangladesh no public servant can afford nearly two-month leave in only six months in office, except under very extraordinary circumstances.****