But, the first and foremost requirement is to have a democratic setup in the country with a firm commitment of the ruling government to do good for the people and the country to the best of its ability. It is imperative on the part of a democratic government to act responsibly and be benevolent at the same time and to adhere to the above principles both in letter and spirit while running the affairs of the state.

If all three wings of statecraft, namely -- executive, legislative and judiciary do not follow the above mentioned principles in discharging their respective responsibilities then the economic growth of a country, and its image outside, are bound to suffer. An unaccountable and non-transparent government provides its functionaries at various levels with opportunities to resort to corrupt practices for their personal gains to the detriment of the national interest. Such a government, be it Parliamentary or Presidential in form, makes its head virtually an elected dictator and turns all other functionaries including the ministers into mere sycophants. In such a situation, the hapless citizens remain silent spectators and their role remains restricted to mere participation in the electoral process.

There is an old saying that “A man is known by the company he keeps”. Likewise, one may say that, “A country is known by the manner in which it is governed”.

Bangladesh scenario
Bangladesh has been a democracy ever since its birth in 1971 but for an interregnum of nearly sixteen years of undemocratic rule. However, it cannot be said for sure that good governance prevailed during the entire period that the country was run under democratic dispensation, as most of the time, excepting the first three and a half years, the parliament was virtually dysfunctional. Accountability and transparency of the cabinet members and the bureaucracy were almost nonexistent.

Taking advantage of the situation, corruption not only crept into the government machinery from top to bottom, but also engulfed the society as a whole, thereby gradually eating into the very vitals of the social fabric to the detriment of country's image in general and development of the national economy in particular. Not a single agency of the government could be given a clean slate. The situation remains unchanged till date. Rather it has been deteriorating every day. But, the government appears to be unperturbed and complacent. No consideration is given to wakeup calls from various quarters, both within and outside the country in spite of the fact that Bangladesh has been bearing the ignominy of being the most corrupt country of the world for the last five consecutive years according to Transparency International's corruption perception index..

According to experts, corruption eats up nearly two percent of the country's GDP. The media, both print and electronic, are flush with innumerable reports of corruption day in and day out resorted to by people both in the public as well as the private sector. But, one does not see any governmental action against the perpetrators. This is an ominous sign.

Because of pervasive corruption, the pace of overall development especially, in the infrastructure sector like power, port, railway and air transportation is so slow that it has failed to catch up with the need of the day, thereby, adversely affecting the country's economy and image. It does not require an expert to say that the country's power; railway and air transportation systems are in total disarray. In fact these are on the verge of collapse. Unless something miraculous happens one cannot expect the situation to improve soon.

On the socio-political front, the situation remains alarming due to confrontational politics, which is not a healthy sign for the country's prosperity. Stubborn and unbending attitude of both the ruling alliance and the opposition combines are taking the country nowhere. Taking advantage of the governmental inaction and complacency, criminal and extremist elements in collusion with a section of the ruling elite and the administrative machinery are having hey days thus keeping the hapless citizenry hostage. This has been going on with impunity for the last three decades.

The country's political system has been so much vitiated due to influx of dishonest self-seekers over the years that honest politicians as well as honest officials have become a rare species. It has reached such a dismal state because the political parties, irrespective of their ideological hue, look for persons with money, muscle power and questionable demeanor while offering party tickets for parliamentary elections ignoring the honest and dedicated party members. Hence, it is only natural that bad politicians would drive away good ones from the political arena.

Elected members of the parliament, instead of discharging their responsibilities in the parliament, are found crowding the corridors of power lobbying for profitable deals in order to recover their investments made for getting elected and to fatten their own coffers, ignoring the lofty pre-election promises made to the electorate.

MPs in general and those belonging to the ruling party in particular, prefer to involve themselves in interfering in the affairs of their respective district administrations forgetting their designated duty as law makers. Officials who do not toe their line face undue harassment. The government at the centre appears to encourage such unlawful activities of the legislators. This hampers local development works, which, in the long run, adversely affects real development of the area and the national economy.

The prevailing law and order scenario is not a happy one. It has been on the decline for a long time. Analysts attribute this trend to factors like incompetence, inefficiency, cronyism, lack of accountability on the part of the enforcing agencies and recruitment, posting and promotion of personnel on partisan politics of the ruling governments. Added to these factors is corruption at almost all levels of the agencies. Many a time law enforcers are seen to protect the lawbreakers and harass the law-abiding citizens. Such attitude of the law enforcers contributed to the gradual waning of public faith in them because of which, at times, people are compelled to take the law in their own hands. This is not at all desirable in a democratic society.

Way forward
In order to come out of the morass, it is extremely necessary to undertake immediate policy reform measures in the areas of electoral process and governance including the judiciary, fiscal, financial, trade and investment. And while doing so, internationally recognised democratic norms must be adhered to.

Political parties should take utmost care while nominating candidates for parliamentary and other elections in order to screen out corrupt and unscrupulous ones. Academic qualification should also be taken into account.

In line with the existing constitutional provision, it must be ensured that the cabinet remains accountable to the parliament. Currently, one does not see this happening. Parliamentary standing committees must meet periodically to monitor activities of respective ministries and their recommendations must receive due consideration of the government.

The speaker of the parliament should be seen to be acting neutrally at the time of conducting the proceedings of the house. Constructive criticisms of the opposition members of the parliament should be accepted with grace. Likewise, those of the media should also receive due consideration of the relevant quarters of the government

There is no denying that concentration of power at one point breeds inefficiency and corruption. Hence, it is advisable to decentralise the administration and devolve power to the district level at the least. Responsibilities such as day-to-day administration, implementation of development projects, maintenance of law and order etc. should be left to the elected district authority which could be referred to as the district council or any other suitable name and its head could be named as President, Chairman or whatever.

The central government should place necessary budgetary allocation with the district authority on an annual basis and devise a mechanism for proper monitoring of the expenditure. An ombudsman could be appointed for the purpose. The central government should also depute necessary officials for running the district administration. While doing so it must be ensured that such officials remain answerable to the district authority for their activities. The tenure of these officials must not be less than five years and their promotion and posting should depend on satisfactory performance duly vouched for by the district authority.

The judiciary must be separated from the executive wing of the government without any further delay and constitutional bodies like Anti Corruption Commission, Public Service Commission etc., must be allowed to function independently without any let or hindrance from any quarter. It would be better if appointments in such bodies are made after due scrutiny by the respective parliamentary committees.

Recruitment and promotion of government officials and other functionaries should be made strictly on the basis of merit and performance without any partisan political consideration. The respective parliamentary standing committees could ensure their accountability through periodic scrutiny. Functions of the bureaucrats should be restricted to advising the government when necessary and to implementation of public policies.

Jahangir Bin Alam is former Secretary, Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce & Industry