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BITTER TRUTH

Caught in the rut

Md. Asadullah Khan
Even though the government has been in power for the last three years with such an impressive majority, it has failed to meet the expectations of the people. Blame ministers' inaction, blame inter-party tension or divisive politics, whatever may be reason, the government's decision making cell has been acutely paralysed over the last two years.
Perhaps the finance ministry, whose job is to keep tight control and strict vigil over wasteful expenditure, has failed in its job. With Padma bridge construction, metro rail project, Teesta water treaty all in limbo, and border killings going unabated, the government's performance card has sunk low.
And even though the finance minister admitted belatedly that the financial health of the nation was not okay and he was worried about the price hike of essential commodities, the people have felt the crunch of price spiral after the price-hike of power and fuel. Since economics is seldom, if ever, divorced from politics, economic policy of the government must relate to the core constituency — the burgeoning middle-class.
The strength of the middle-class, both political and economic, has to be recognised by any government. At a time when the price hike of essential commodities as well as abnormal rise in transport fares have hit the poor people hard, the fixed income group, including those without jobs and retired people, find themselves in a bind. Though funds were made available for many projects and the power sector in the past years, the agencies concerned could hardly utilise these allocations because of administrative red tape, snags in contract award and delay in implementation. That meant dwindling cash flow affecting the lower and middle class citizenry.
To ignore such facts or to remain oblivious to people's sufferings and hardship and to live by slogans and rhetoric is to court disaster. Ideology, politics and power must not dull our common sense or rob us of pragmatism. The economic strains in any country exacerbate strains in the rank and file of the population and pose a threat to the growth of democracy and good governance.
Noticeably, the country is sliding into a morass of crime and administrative breakdown. True, the government's damage control units are out on the job but it is difficult to mask the truthcrime rate is spiraling up and endemic corruption is throttling growth. It is time the ruling party recognised the dangers of letting radical forces take control of things and ride roughshod over the principle of sacrifice and spirit of the Liberation War. In the quagmire of dirty politics, those who suffer are the country's hapless millions. The portents are grim but the end results could be apocalyptic.
The people, however, have not failed to notice that a storm has been brewing, not only along party lines but also on other fronts. This constant sniping has got to stop. It should be brought home to those self-centred politicians and zealots that this is not only undermining the government but also the state, adversely affecting foreign investment and national development and consequently cutting jobs.
People also feel that the administration has flipflopped on major policy decisions, allowing the divisive forces to gain ground. The dream of lifting the country's backward economy seems to have been battered by continued agitation, protests, rallies, road marches and hartals. Because of shrinking donor assistance in development projects and lack of commitment by the officials involved in such works, the value of taka continues to plunge and foreign confidence is dwindling.
A series of bomb blasts and discovery of explosive materials brought to the fore the destructive forces beneath the surface. But history has shown that militancy on one side breeds in the other. People fear that the country is heading toward confrontation. The unrelenting feuds and skirmishes in the campuses of the universities that often lead to armed fighting, taking toll of vibrant and young lives, are indications of the deepening fissures that have developed among different ideological groups in the society.
Reality has betrayed expectation. There have been intra-party conflicts, killings and lootings and, topping them all, a new dimension has been added to killings. The government made pledges to root out terrorism and must face down this mafia group without fear or favour. Ironically, the criminals' arrogance is fed by feckless response that unfortunately greets each new breed of barbarism. Much to people's disappointment, though the PM had issued orders to law enforcers to book the criminals without discrimination, her orders have been mosdy unheeded.
On the economic front things look pretty dismal. Policy guidelines and decisions with regard to structural adjustments adopted to put the economy on an even keel were never acted upon. True, the PM serves citizens who are profoundly weary of economic hard times, and people are hardly interested in anything that does not contribute to their well being. There is evidence that the poverty reduction schemes hardly reached the really poor. With 14 lakh unemployed people adding to the already 20 million during the last 4 years, according to a BBS source, the poverty situation looks bleak. Unless there are reforms in education, population control, health care, job creation and proper management of financial institutions, no government can achieve the desired goal. The realisation of the government that business magnates holding more than one post of director in financial institutions must resign from other organisations after retaining one such directorship, although very late, is welcome.
The government has to focus on the monumental task of repairing the economy. There is time for the government to make multi-party democracy work, produce what people need, and put an end to official corruption and red tape. The nation can be both happy and sad, Mr. Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of The Daily Star, told the gathering at the 21st anniversary celebration of the daily, because 70% of the population is below 40 years of age. We can be happy that we have such a big work force that can be utilised to chart out a prosperous future for the country. We must at the same time feel sad that the vast potential is going astray because of lack of opportunity, guidance, motivation and proper nurturing of their talents.
Shockingly, the weakening moral standard and authority of some politicians only increase arbitrary power of officials at different tiers of administration. People feel all this has led to a situation where bureaucrats are either indifferent to citizens' sufferings or shy away from their administrative responsibilities.
The demand of the shipping minister to legalise extortion on the roads not only sounds queer but seems to be a monstrous move in a country ruled by law. Without mincing words, it can be said that any move to legalise extortion will mean legalising corruption. Extortion on the roads, as the commerce minister indicated, pushes up the price of essential commodities.
With a little commitment and honesty of purpose, we could have solved many of these problems much earlier. Even 40 years after independence, we cannot provide our people the basic needs that most developed countries take for granted, but many of us can afford luxury vehicles, apartments and air conditioned shopping malls studded with high-cost and low-utility items. Most of our people, on the other hand, live in conditions that would have been considered horrific by 19th century standards.
I recall the pleasant experience I had while visiting Malaysia as a Commonwealth Fellow some years ago. Starting from the airport to manufacturing plants, universities, tower buildings and the roads and bridges, I was fascinated to see the flawless work done in every place and the facilities created. On my questioning as to how this country reaped such excellent progress in the same span of time that we have been through my guide, a Malaysian university officer, told me that in Malaysia 90% of the funds allocated for any project are actually utilised, while this may not be so in other places.
A recent report published in The Daily Star showed that 67 tonnes of rice and wheat allocated for small-scale repairs of mosques and schools in Sadullapur of Gaibandha district were totally misappropriated without any work by the contractors in collusion with the upazila chairman. Interestingly, one official who had the courage to unearth this corruption racket was transferred to Chittagong Hill Tracts! With such scams and corrupt practices going around, how can we hope that we can put this country on the road to progress, self-sufficiency and development?
The writer is a columnist of The Daily Star.
E-mail: aukhandk@gmail.com