Government Accountability

We are happy to note that the government has decided to make the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report public via their web site for the public to read. Indeed, the government has shown their sincere willingness to be transparent in their activities by making themselves open to public scrutiny. This is a grand step toward achieving the goals of 'digital democracy and good governance in Bangladesh.'

It is important for the public to know how and where our tax money, international loans, foreign remittances, etc are being spent. In a democratic society transparency of accounts is vital as we handle limited resources. Any foolish spending could land us all into a huge debt beyond any possibility of recovery.

Unfortunately though, majority of our population are not literate enough to review these documents. Even a large number of the so called educated folks are out of the Internet boundary. To make it even worse, most of the so called 'literate' folks are not proficient in the English language. So we have compounding layers of problems here.

Regardless, it is a good move for the nation in terms of accountability. Because we would like to know how the government would manage the salary increments of the government employees that has recently been enacted. We would like to know how the government would handle the cost of purchase and maintenance of the cars for the Members of Parliament (MPs) that they are planning on giving while we have so many detrimental issues pending.

It would have been better for our MPs to commute to work by public transportation and other means as most of us do. That way they would get to know the problems the common citizens' face on daily basis in regards to traffic congestions, risks of road accidents, ridiculous traffic control systems in the city, costs of daily commute, conditions of the public transports in use, passenger's safety, etc. If they use the brand new tax free imported cars burning imported fuel or natural gas from our reserves then they would miss out on all these 'experiences'. And without these needed experiences they would not be able to server their people effectively, efficiently and fairly. Instead, we could use that portion of the fund on some developmental projects.

The very meaning of the word 'public servant' is now forgotten. Our public service folks have forgotten that they are working for public interest on behalf of the government free from any political interest and influences. They forgot that when they take oath in office they swear that they would not do anything against the interest of the people and the country. It is their job to object and prevent any such activities when it comes to their knowledge. This is what working in the public service means. Attachment of any public servant with any political party automatically disqualifies him or her from public service positions. Same philosophy and ideology goes for the people serving in the armed forces.

They need to remember that their salaries are coming from the national treasuries and a part of that fund comes from the taxes our citizens pay from their salaries and businesses. Therefore, not entertaining or fulfilling public interest is a total betrayal against the very people. Harassing them by delaying movement of files, seeking bribes from them for a job to be done or resorting to any other means of non-cooperation and threats is a show of disloyalty and a serious crime against the citizens. Their job is to serve the republic with their sincere abilities and highest efficiency.

We hear a lot of cases where a 'percentage' is sought by the government officials at the high levels when an investment case is presented to them for either seeking government permission or advice or guidance. Our Prime Minister is finally acknowledging the matter and speaking out against it openly when she said that creating complexities is not a credit and we have to cast off this type of attitude. She asked the authorities concerned to remove all bottlenecks that block investment in the country from home and abroad.

The PM mentioned that many people from home and abroad were interested in investing in Bangladesh, but bureaucratic tangles often discouraged them when they came to make investment in the country. She asked the officials to work for the welfare of the country's masses of people for which the present government was voted to power. She underscored the need for increasing the revenue collection to make the country stronger on the economic front. She suggested checking the lifestyle of a person and ones source of income to catch the tax-dodgers and rope them onto the tax net. This measure should also be applied on government employees to check their lifestyle with their income level.

Our desire to live beyond our means (i.e., greed) leads us to get involved in corruption. Our cable TV culture (local and foreign) has made us all the members of the fantasyland far from reality. As a result we seek and desire things motivated by the western consumerism based free market subliminal messages that we cannot afford. We are attracted to luxuries and vanities without checking our pockets. In order to materialize those implanted dreams and desires we tend to seek out other means of income not paying any attention to its legality and illegality or even criminality. And in most cases, people go unpunished and walk away with crime without any trace. This is the root cause of corruption in our society. Our political parties are full of crooks and criminals, as if that is the pre-condition to qualify for a membership.

The materialistic cultural invasion through the media programs is affecting our morality that is now taking a toll with more danger signals around us resulting in insecurity against crime and criminals due to our dysfunctional law enforcement system. Too much of political and elite influences has made our law and enforcement agencies ineffective. When such agencies rot, so will the other components of the society that they were supposed to safeguard.

Bangladesh was much happier as a nation long as the people held onto their religious ropes. Perhaps our PM is beginning to realize the matter when she rightfully said, "We have decided to give more importance to religious subjects in general education curriculum to enhance the sense of morality among students." We see her interest in engaging the 'mosques' around the country as a force of national development partners. She wants to engage the imams and muajjins to involve themselves more in eradicating poverty, malnutrition and illiteracy from society and improve environment as Bangladesh is a poor country and a certain level of the population is living below the poverty line. The government had already approved mosque-based mass education projects worth Tk 643.55 crore to expand pre-primary education base utilizing the infrastructures of mosques throughout the country. "With this, 38,000 imams and alems got employment and thousands of students are getting education in mosques," she said. But this endeavor should also expand to the urban areas as the urban dwellers too deserve a moral uplift.

The idea could work well if the program could be kept free from political influence and control. The program should be under cordial supervision of the Ministry of Religious Affairs staffed with qualified and knowledgeable personnel directed to work mainly to uplift moral values of people through proper education so that they consider simple life free from greed and worldly lusts and put the national developmental agenda first. However, in order to succeed in this endeavor, the government must carefully define the roles of the religious leaders and the local government representatives in the area so that their interests do not collide. A harmony and clear understanding must be in place in order for them to work in mutual cooperation toward a common goal.

According to our constitution, "Islam" is our "state religion" and this sentiment should not be played by dirty political hands. People in general are for peace. They just want to be left alone to mind their own businesses without any interferences of any kind. It is the duty of the government to ensure that peace and freedom for all citizens.

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Government Accountability

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