By the admission of the state minister in charge of the ministry of power, there is an 'untraceable' amount of Tk 2500 crores from DESA funds that have vanished due to what the minister says, graft, theft and mismanagement. Welcome as the minister's expose is, we do not fail to see a sense of utter haplessness writ large on his statement.

Certain endemic systemic failures have come to light from the minister's statement. One, the whole system is plagued by our national default culture. Two, the default and theft culture is nurtured by DESA operatives by way of greasing their own palms. Three, there is a lack of resolute effort to see an end to the prevailing situation by the government itself.

Whereas we are suffering from a shortfall in power, the most important input for GDP growth, and whereas the exchequer is suffering the gravest loss through system seepage in the power sector, the biggest single defaulter appears to be the public sector itself -- to the tune of Tk three to four hundred crore. But how does one explain the remainder Tk 1500 crore that various parties and individuals in the private sector owe to DESA? Why has it been allowed to pile up if not for the role of DESA itself?

The large amount of loss, both untracked and in the form of dues, has accreted over the last decade for DESA. This only exposes a lack of supervision and failure to initiate timely action and appropriate measures by all concerned.

It will do very little to put the blame on unscrupulous officials and workers of the organisation. However, it is never too late to take actions to retrieve the loss and hold those that are responsible for the losses to account.