I have decided to write on good governance today as a result of having been a moderator in a recently concluded workshop on 'Good governance: Remedy to poverty and corruption in Bangladesh' organised by the newly established Society for Bangladesh Development Strategy (BDSS).

Speakers described the concept of governance as being applicable in three spheres -- political, economic and administrative and being a system aimed at not only establishing and maintaining accountability, transparency and efficiency in all spheres of governmental and administrative machinery but also providing public safety and maintenance of rule of law and order.

Participants highlighted several problems that are currently afflicting Bangladesh -- a low income country plagued with corruption. The significant point of criticism centred around politicised campuses, distressful educational facilities, disappointing human rights development, contradictory economic policies, unfriendly tax policy which hinders industrialisation, indiscipline in the industrial sector, dilapidated infrastructure in land and sea ports, absence of pro-poor health policy etc. It was pointed out that these elements were hindering poverty reduction. In this context, it was also emphasised that though there had been some gain in maternal health, child nutrition and access to safe water, the non-income and human dimension of poverty had failed to rise in the general index of human development.

Some speakers were particularly harsh in their evaluation of existing corruption within the country. They outlined that corruption was particularly evident in widespread bribery, obtaining of loan against minimum collateral assets and subsequent loan defaults, evasion of taxes and customs duties. It was also underlined that one of the important features that contributed towards such unaccountable corruption was the politicisation of administration and the posting of inappropriate personnel in important areas of responsibility. A lone supporter of the government disagreed with the criticism and suggested that most of it was politically motivated. In this context he also decried the role of the opposition and their effort to damage the Bangladeshi image.

This controversial debate on governance and administration within Bangladesh raised many questions. However, two things were clear. There was no disagreement that good governance was a mind set and that this was mostly absent. There was also broad consensus that contrary to the opinion of the present Administration, journalists were consciously contributing towards good governance by drawing the attention of readers to its many failures. It was also evident that reports of absence of good governance in the electronic and print media were being monitored abroad by expatriate Bangladeshis through the internet and satellite television. It was similarly obvious that government criticism about the opposition trying to denigrate the image of Bangladesh abroad was less than true.

In the last few days I have carried out my own survey. I wanted to ascertain whether approach towards good governance is really suffering because of the poor, partial and politicised mindset of those who are responsible for providing it to the general population. My trial survey convinced me that the government not only needs to thank the journalists for their important role in establishing good governance but also change its mind set about the opposition.

I will share here some of the important reports that came my way in the few days that this survey lasted. They must have already drawn the attention of readers:

-- Unknown assailants murder 2 NGO workers in Boalmari upazila of Faridpur. The two, also preachers, worked for an international NGO (Christian Life of Bangladesh) as field workers. They were killed past midnight while they were sleeping within their house. We can see in this incident, potential for severe adverse publicity in western countries.

-- Group of alleged JCD supporters from Jamalpur and Netrakona bar others from participating in tenders at the Jute Ministry in Dhaka for purchasing land and property of the now defunct Bangladesh Jute Corporation in those districts. Such open reprehensible activity is only possible if these so-called students receive political support.

-- Seven suspected Islamic militants, arrested by the police in Dinajpur, are released on the intervention of a certain political party.

-- Ahmadiyya community in Sharishabari village of Jamalpur district comes under attack of bigots around midnight as they are watching a TV telecast (from London) of an Ahmadiyya Convention.

-- Open corruption among lower level officials working in the settlement and the revenue offices in Shariatpur (particularly applicable in cases of land registration). This conforms to Transparency International allegations.

-- Civil Aviation official, allegedly guilty of corruption (on the basis of three departmental investigations) is spared forced retirement and escapes through demotion.

-- About 300 corruption cases filed against top politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen during the last 14 years are still pending before different courts. Apparently, the situation has become more complex because the High Court has stayed about 100 of them and the government has not even tried to vacate these stay orders. Such inactivity smacks of inefficiency.

-- Parliamentary Standing Committee on Private Members Bills and Resolutions accuse Speaker Jamiruddin Sircar of the Parliament of making the Committee dysfunctional by not allowing the lawmakers to place private members' bills in Parliament. This is consistent with opposition claims that they are allowed a very limited role within the parliamentary process.

-- 29 killed in 'crossfire' in July this year -- the RAB was associated with 13 incidents and the police with 15.

-- Health care products including breast milk substitutes are being sold in the market without expiry dates.

-- Corporate governance is being hampered because of weak regulatory system and undue interference from the Board of Directors with regard to corporate management. This criticism came from the finance minister, the minister for law and also from the Governor of the Bangladesh Bank.

-- Absence of phyto-sanitary standards, open adulteration of food-stuffs and use of harmful chemical additives in restaurants.

-- Granting of Presidential clemency to BNP leader Mohiuddin Jintu after short cutting the process and procedure required in situations that involve the death penalty.

-- Criticism of the government for having failed to bring about the separation of the judiciary from the executive. References were made in this context to the Majdar Hossain case and the 12-point directive given by the Supreme Court regarding this matter.

There were also several reports of police officials involved in misrepresentation, theft, robbery and in one case even rape. Suggestions were also made in certain newspapers about the failure of the police in being able to effec-tively tackle the criminals and extortionists in Tejgaon, Mohammadpur, Agargaon, Magh-bazar, Mohakhali, Shahjahanpur and Sabujbagh (various parts of Dhaka).

All the above references dealt with failure of governance. These were highlighted within the space of one week. All these incidents also reflect the absence of commitment and proper mind set. These are failures that need not happen and can be avoided.

As an ordinary citizen of Bangladesh I am proud of my country. Our people, through their hard work and patience, despite poor political leadership, have proven that we are not an 'international basket case' as was predicted by Kissinger. I believe that good governance, be it in the political, administrative or corporate sphere is achievable. I am not willing to accept that corruption has so tainted our moral fibre that we are beyond redemption.

It is still within the power of the present government to pull up its socks, tie its laces and be seen as moving forward. Our general election is not far away. If good, responsible a political governance is not provided and the mind set of the Alliance not changed, it will definitely impact on election results. This of course pre-supposes a fair electoral process, an independent Election Commission and an impartial caretaker government.

It also has to address itself to other serious pending issues. A year has nearly passed and yet there have not been any concrete results with regard to the despicable grenade attacks on the British High Commissioner, Sheikh Hasina, the most unfortunate murder of the former finance minister SAMS Kibria as well as the 17th August wave of bombings all over Bangladesh. We have seen the swift action taken by the British government after the London bombings. This was an example of good governance. Why can we not emulate such response with regard to our criminal acts or even incidents of acid throwing?

This was also the unfortunate month of August when Banga-bandhu and his many family members were assassinated thirty years ago. Why is it that the judicial process has not yet been completed and those guilty punished?

We also have to tackle the allegation of extra-judicial killings. It is continuing to tarnish our reputation. It would be useful if checks and balances are introduced into the RAB structure so that they can be more effective without being accused of human rights violations. They need to be guided so that their activities are consistent with the scope of judicial remedy and also subject to review. A special parliamentary body could be created for this purpose.

The government has finally also woken up to food adulteration. This needs to be sustained by appointing more staff in the Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution. Consumers must be protected. We need to do the same with regard to monitoring of building and construction code violations. Appointment of more inspectors is a must.

Another facet that needs the brush of good governance is careful monitoring of the various diagnostic labs and clinics that have mushroomed all over the urban areas of Bangladesh. The vast majority of these institutions are poor infrastructure support and lack professional competence. They have become death traps, more geared towards profit rather than health care. Consequently, our people, particularly the middle-class are voting with their feet and seeking help abroad. This is a serious drainage on our meagre foreign exchange reserves.

Corruption and 'systems-loss' resulting out of abuse of power in the utilities sectors could also be drastically reduced through more privatisation and the introduction of rechargeable pre-paid cards in the electricity sector.

I have never believed in calling the glass half-empty. Good governance is a factor that this Administration can initiate by separating the judiciary from the executive. They can start by establishing the National Human Rights Commission, appointing an Ombudsman and by making the Anti-Corruption Commission effective. They also have to decentralise, de-politicise the administration and the judiciary and change their mind set. Everything else will fall into place. Transparency and accountability will then take care of the rest. It is still not too late.

Muhammad Zamir is a former Secretary and Ambassador -- any response to [email protected]