Good governance: Role of public servants

GOOD governance is now a much talked about topic. UNDP, the World Bank, or other bilateral and multilateral donors, are concerned about lack of good governance in Bangladesh and have suggested measures for its improvement. There are also institutions which offer course studies in good governance. These facilities were not there during our time. I got the first lesson on good governance from my father when I went to Barisal to meet him to take his blessings before joining the Civil Service in 1952. While traveling in a rickshaw to the Barisal Steamer Ghat, he told me: “You are entering into a new phase of your life and you should always remember that honesty is the best policy. Never compromise on honesty.”
This is the cardinal principle of good governance. A dishonest civil servant is a serious impediment to good governance. The second lesson on good governance was from Chief Justice Shahabuddin, who was the Chief Justice of the High Court of East Pakistan in 1954. I and a few colleagues were under settlement training in Sylhet when Justice Shahabuddin went on a visit there and met us in his railway saloon. He said: “During the course of your career, you will hold positions where you will find that the laws, rules and regulations have given you enormous power and authority. But please always remember that this power and authority given to you are not for ‘glorifying’ you or to make you ‘self-important,’ but to enable you to discharge your responsibility and obligation to the society in a responsible and just manner.”
It is difficult to find an all-inclusive definition of good governance. In a recent article published in The Daily Star, the writer defined good governance as a cross-cutting issue. To him it meant effective parliamentary process, sound law and order, improved legal and judicial system, pro-people public service and a corruption-free society. The last two ingredients of good governance directly apply to the civil servants. Each one of us is an agent of good governance and each one of us can make enormous contribution to good governance by remaining incorruptible and maintaining a pro-people approach in the discharge of our duties and responsibilities. This will not cost us or the exchequer anything but would bring laurels both for us as well as for the government we serve.
Way back in 1952, when I decided to sit for the Central Superior Service of Pakistan, I had to deposit Rs.50 into the government exchequer as the examination fee. I was in Chittagong where the treasury was located on the top of the hill and the Imperial Bank of India where the money had to be deposited was at the bottom. I had to go up and down the hill at least twice to get the chalan approved, deposit the money and get a receipt. Since I was young I did not mind this trouble but I wondered how an old man would be able to perform this feat only to deposit Rs.50 in to the government treasury.
In 1963, I was appointed Joint Secretary, Finance, and one of my responsibilities was to look after the treasury work. This I considered an opportunity to probe into the procedure prescribed for depositing money into the government exchequer. Mr. Hafizur Rahman was the finance minister and I requested him to accompany me to Dhaka Treasury located in the old city. He readily agreed. On way to the treasury, I explained to the minister the purpose of the visit, which was to see first hand whether the elaborate steps prescribed for depositing money into government treasury could be shortened and, if so, take an on the spot decision. As far as I remember, we could eliminate at least one of the stages which did not at all affect the proper accounting of the deposit.
While I was a student, I was suffering from a rare eye disease which needed immediate surgery. The procedure for getting admitted as an indoor patient in the Dhaka Medical College Hospital was quite elaborate. I started with a doctor in the ‘outdoor’ and it took me about one week to reach ‘indoor’ of the hospital and meet the professor of ophthalmology who finally operated on my eye. Even at that time it appeared to me that the procedure was much too cumbersome and caused unnecessary harassment to the patients. It so happened that in 1966, I became the Secretary Department of Health and I took time to visit the Dhaka Medical College Hospital and, accompanied by the superintendent, a colonel from the army, went through the procedure for admission step by step.
The point I am trying to emphasise is that in these two instances, as well as in a few other similar cases, my objective was to reduce the hardship and harassment to the public at the hands of government functionaries. This I feel should be the motto of every government servant. We should remember that we are all public servants and that all our decisions and actions should be directed to serve public interest only. If each one of us can emulate this principle and strictly follow this code of conduct, we will be making our solid contribution to good governance and to the building up of a prosperous Bangladesh.

Corruption at 12 per cent

A new study by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has revealed that the level of corruption in the education sector stands at an estimated 12 per cent. While it is certainly much better than countries in the neighbourhood, with India’s 48 per cent and lower than the global average of 17 per cent, there is indeed scope for improvement. According to the report published based on data from ‘Global Corruption Barometer-2012′, the country has lost over Tk.700 million (US$9 million) in the form of petty corruption in one year.
Though we have done better than many countries in limiting corruption in education, the fact remains that such graft adversely affects the quality of education our children are receiving. Given the complexities involved in the education administration and the lack of proper monitoring and evaluation in the system, there exist ample loopholes for graft to take place. Such gaps allow for the collection of undue monies and bribery for placement in educational institutions. Though the well off segment of society may be able to afford such extra payment, the poor and disadvantaged certainly cannot.
Corruption in education also means nepotism in appointment of teachers, money changing hands for gaining admission in institutions, etc. – all of which deprive deserving candidates from entry into the education system. Such practices, we believe are in direct conflict with the rules of fair play and assurance of quality in the field of education.

Poor warehousing hurts agriculture: Muhith

Marketing of agricultural products suffers the most because of a poor warehousing system, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said yesterday. He suggested more multipurpose cold stores should be established.
The country has only two multi-purpose cold stores now, which are not enough to meet the requirements, he said. In the 1970s, warehouses were meant only for food grains, he said. “Now it is much more than that. Because of diversification of products, simply potato cold storage is not good enough for the country.”
He spoke at a workshop on Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Country Programming Framework 2013-2018, at the Planning Commission in the capital. Economic Relations Division and FAO organised the programme attended by the officials of government and UN agencies.
“Multipurpose cold storage is extremely important,” said Muhith. The government is facing a problem in storing the products it has promoted earlier, he said.
“I don’t know what government can do. But certainly, you can think of incentives that can be helpful,” he said.
A quality control laboratory for livestock is also important, Muhith said. The finance minister was, however, critical of the performances of the livestock and fisheries ministry.
“Poultry is not being taken care of by your ministry. Poultry suffered seriously. You did not help them much,” he told the officials of the livestock ministry.
Muhith said performance of aquaculture fisheries is good.
“Agriculture is one of the outstanding performing sectors of any country in the world. Bangladesh has trebled its food production in just about 30 years,” he said.
“It’s all done because of good practices. Our farmers are the most progressive one in the world with very little school education.”
He called upon media to highlight achievements instead of focusing on negative points of the country only.
“Press (media) has the tendency of highlighting all the weak points, forgetting about good points.”
Muhith said he thinks media used to do this to sensationalise news. “It is very unfortunate that you take this position, and I hope you (media) will not take this position.”
He also asked the Department of Agricultural Extension to encourage people to form more farmers’ clubs for better agricultural production.
FAO Country Representative Mike Robson said the UN agency aims to have a world free from hunger and malnutrition.
The five areas FAO mainly works on in Bangladesh are: poverty reduction and enhancement of food security and nutrition, increased agricultural productivity through diversification, including sustainable management of natural resources, use of quality inputs and mechanisation.
It will also focus on improving market linkages, value addition, and quality to ensure food safety, better linkage between research-extension and farmers and increased resilience of communities to withstand shocks or natural disasters.

Premier LP Gas fined Tk 1 lakh

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) yesterday fined a non-listed company Tk 1 lakh for raising capital without a regulatory approval.
Premier LP Gas Ltd raised its capital from Tk 9.38 crore to Tk 24.98 crore on June 11, 2001, and from Tk 24.98 crore to Tk 43.62 crore on November 28, 2002.
But the company, in both the cases, did not take any approval from the BSEC which goes against securities rules, according to a statement issued after a meeting of the regulator.
In another move, the BSEC approved the rights offer of Bangladesh Finance and Investment Company Ltd that will issue three rights share for existing five shares at an offer price of Tk 10.
The company will raise Tk 39 crore through 3.9 crore ordinary shares, and will use the proceeds to strengthen its capital base in line with Basel-II.

Why businesses need to reshape society

The current economic and financial crisis makes it very clear that the system that we have is not sustainable, and thus it is the right time for us to change the ways we do business and build them in a new way.
By simply capitalising on core strengths and knowledge, companies and entrepreneurs can engage in an emerging business model that will enable them to create—and demonstrate—real, sustainable social impact in society. This business model is aptly called “social business” and brings together the efficient and innovative methods of business and the task of solving social problems such as poverty, healthcare, education or energy access.
Engaging in social business is beneficial to a company because it leverages on business competencies to address social issues, involves one-time investment with sustainable results, and produces other positive effects such as employee motivation and improved organisational culture.
The growth of the social business sector is advantageous to profit-making companies—once problems of homelessness and poor welfare are solved, people will come to the market and buy more of their products. The larger the social business sector grows, the stronger the business sector becomes, as society becomes stronger and problem-free.
To overcome poverty and the flaws of the economic crisis in our society, we need to envision our social life. We have to free our mind, imagine what has never happened before and write social fiction. We need to imagine things to make them happen. If you don’t imagine, it will never happen. I suggest making a list of “impossibles” and to start working on them. For example, 1 percent of the total economy of a city, a province or a country should be invested in social business within the next five years. We have to show the success stories at the ground level and it will change the people’s mind about doing business.
One example can change people’s mind and therefore we are holding the annual Global Social Business Summit, similar to the World Economic Forum, to bring together decision-makers from businesses and politics and connect them to the social business community to learn more about social business and how it is being developed around the world.
Emmanuel Faber, chief operating officer of the Danone Group, once said that social business is a radical innovation and it brings in a completely new horizon of business opportunities; it is not just a simple change in the conventional business.
Poverty has become a part of our economic system as well as its consequence. It is created by the system that we have built, the institutions that we have designed, the concepts we have formulated. Poverty is an artificial, external imposition on a human being; it is not innate in a human being. And since it is external, it can be removed. It is just a question of doing it.

Trading of two firms halted over abnormal price hike

The Dhaka Stock Exchange yesterday suspended trading of two firms—Imam Button Industries and Meghna PET Industries—due to an abnormal hike in prices.
However, stocks returned to the black yesterday, breaking a three-day losing streak, as investors went on a buying spree to take benefit of low prices of shares and mutual fund units.
DSEX, the benchmark general index of the DSE, closed the day at 3,954.48 points, after gaining 26 points or 0.66 percent.
In the last 10 trading days, the market reversed positively after a 210-point fall, buoyed by the increased level of trading volume in insurance, mutual fund and cement sectors, LankaBangla Securities said in its daily market analysis.
Investors were seemed to be more cautious in their trading activities ahead of Eid, said IDLC Investments in its analysis.
A total of 0.88 lakh trades were executed with 8.62 crore shares and mutual fund units changing hands on the Dhaka bourse.
Of the 288 issues that traded on the DSE floor, 208 advanced, 52 declined and 28 remained unchanged.
Most of the major sectors ended the day in the black: cement 2.94 percent, engineering 1.93 percent and textile 1.86 percent. However, life insurance lost 0.54 percent, bank 0.32 percent and foods 0.15 percent.
Envoy Textiles featured in the most traded stocks chart with 22.74 lakh shares worth Tk 12.45 crore changing hands.
Aamra Technologies was the biggest gainer of the day, as it posted 9.96 percent gain, while Third ICB Mutual Fund was the worst loser, plunging by 7.92 percent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also gained on the day with its selective category index, CSCX, going up by 41.12 points to close at 7,712.20 points.
Gainers beat losers 147 to 51, with 17 issues remaining unchanged on the port city bourse that traded 90.22 lakh shares and mutual fund units with a turnover of Tk 26.12 crore.

Good governance: Role of public servants

GOOD governance is now a much talked about topic. UNDP, the World Bank, or other bilateral and multilateral donors, are concerned about lack of good governance in Bangladesh and have suggested measures for its improvement. There are also institutions which offer course studies in good governance. These facilities were not there during our time. I got the first lesson on good governance from my father when I went to Barisal to meet him to take his blessings before joining the Civil Service in 1952. While traveling in a rickshaw to the Barisal Steamer Ghat, he told me: “You are entering into a new phase of your life and you should always remember that honesty is the best policy. Never compromise on honesty.”
This is the cardinal principle of good governance. A dishonest civil servant is a serious impediment to good governance. The second lesson on good governance was from Chief Justice Shahabuddin, who was the Chief Justice of the High Court of East Pakistan in 1954. I and a few colleagues were under settlement training in Sylhet when Justice Shahabuddin went on a visit there and met us in his railway saloon. He said: “During the course of your career, you will hold positions where you will find that the laws, rules and regulations have given you enormous power and authority. But please always remember that this power and authority given to you are not for ‘glorifying’ you or to make you ‘self-important,’ but to enable you to discharge your responsibility and obligation to the society in a responsible and just manner.”
It is difficult to find an all-inclusive definition of good governance. In a recent article published in The Daily Star, the writer defined good governance as a cross-cutting issue. To him it meant effective parliamentary process, sound law and order, improved legal and judicial system, pro-people public service and a corruption-free society. The last two ingredients of good governance directly apply to the civil servants. Each one of us is an agent of good governance and each one of us can make enormous contribution to good governance by remaining incorruptible and maintaining a pro-people approach in the discharge of our duties and responsibilities. This will not cost us or the exchequer anything but would bring laurels both for us as well as for the government we serve.
Way back in 1952, when I decided to sit for the Central Superior Service of Pakistan, I had to deposit Rs.50 into the government exchequer as the examination fee. I was in Chittagong where the treasury was located on the top of the hill and the Imperial Bank of India where the money had to be deposited was at the bottom. I had to go up and down the hill at least twice to get the chalan approved, deposit the money and get a receipt. Since I was young I did not mind this trouble but I wondered how an old man would be able to perform this feat only to deposit Rs.50 in to the government treasury.
In 1963, I was appointed Joint Secretary, Finance, and one of my responsibilities was to look after the treasury work. This I considered an opportunity to probe into the procedure prescribed for depositing money into the government exchequer. Mr. Hafizur Rahman was the finance minister and I requested him to accompany me to Dhaka Treasury located in the old city. He readily agreed. On way to the treasury, I explained to the minister the purpose of the visit, which was to see first hand whether the elaborate steps prescribed for depositing money into government treasury could be shortened and, if so, take an on the spot decision. As far as I remember, we could eliminate at least one of the stages which did not at all affect the proper accounting of the deposit.
While I was a student, I was suffering from a rare eye disease which needed immediate surgery. The procedure for getting admitted as an indoor patient in the Dhaka Medical College Hospital was quite elaborate. I started with a doctor in the ‘outdoor’ and it took me about one week to reach ‘indoor’ of the hospital and meet the professor of ophthalmology who finally operated on my eye. Even at that time it appeared to me that the procedure was much too cumbersome and caused unnecessary harassment to the patients. It so happened that in 1966, I became the Secretary Department of Health and I took time to visit the Dhaka Medical College Hospital and, accompanied by the superintendent, a colonel from the army, went through the procedure for admission step by step.
The point I am trying to emphasise is that in these two instances, as well as in a few other similar cases, my objective was to reduce the hardship and harassment to the public at the hands of government functionaries. This I feel should be the motto of every government servant. We should remember that we are all public servants and that all our decisions and actions should be directed to serve public interest only. If each one of us can emulate this principle and strictly follow this code of conduct, we will be making our solid contribution to good governance and to the building up of a prosperous Bangladesh.

Special launch services on Oct 14-19

Special launch services will be operated between Dhaka and the southern districts from Sadarghat on October 14-19 to facilitate the movement of holidaymakers on the occasion of Eid-ul Azha, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) officials announced yesterday.
Further details about the services will be made available in the media shortly, they said after an inter-departmental meeting at BIWTA office in the capital. Government officials, launch owners, and labour leaders took 34 decisions there to ensure safe journeys on the occasion.
As per the decisions, Bangladesh Inland Waterways (Passenger Carrier’s) Association will check overpricing of tickets, while Bandar Shamannay Committee will monitor overloading.
To avoid traffic gridlocks, BIWTA officials urged the city corporation to make the capital’s road from Jagannath University to Sadarghat terminal one-way on the occasion. The corporation was also urged not to allow the Naya Bazar makeshift cattle market on the road near Sadarghat.
The officials said additional law enforcers would check bribery and criminal activities in Sadarghat and adjacent areas. Bangladesh Coast Guard will be patrolling the rivers at night to stop the use of unauthorised fishing nets and unnecessary plying of cargo vessels.
BIWTA Chairman Samsuddoha Khandaker ordered the Sadarghat authorities not to allow any idle launch staying at the terminal during the Eid rush. He said, “Coordination among the involved government agencies will be required this time too.”
Pointing out that launch owners were found absent at crisis moments previously, BIWTA Secretary Mahbubul Alam urged them to stay at the terminal during the Eid rush.
BIWTC Chairman Mujibar Rahman, among others, attended the meeting.

SC orders status quo on hospital user fees

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the authorities concerned to maintain status quo on distribution of user fees among doctors and staff of government hospitals till November 3.
A four member bench of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain passed the order.
On February 19 last year, the High Court declared collection of user fees from the patients at the government hospitals illegal.
The chamber judge later stayed the HC verdict.
Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) recently submitted an appeal to the apex court seeking directive on the authorities concerned of government and hospitals to stop distribution of the user fees among the doctors and nurses.
After hearing, the Appellate Division today fixed November 3 for hearing and passing an order on the HRPB appeal.
The hospital authorities cannot distribute the money of user fees collected from the patients among the doctors and stuff till further order of the SC, Manzill Murshid, lawyer for HRPB told The Daily Star.

At least 20 had access to draft verdict

At least 20 tribunal staff members had access to the computers of the judges of a war crimes tribunal, where the draft verdict against BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury was composed.
They include two computer operators, a few officials and several lower grade employees, and any of them could have leaked the draft through pen drive or any other portable device during its composition, a top official of the tribunal told The Daily Star yesterday.
The tribunal has yet to ascertain who might have been involved in leaking parts of the judgment.
The leaked portion, however, did not contain the sentence against Salauddin, which was written by the judges immediately before delivering the verdict on Tuesday morning, the official said.
The three judges of International Crimes Tribunal-1, including its Chairman Justice ATM Fazle Kabir, had separately written parts of the verdict, and two computer operators composed them, he added.
The two other judges are Justice Jahangir Hossain and Justice Anwarul Haque.
According to the official, the tribunal chairman and one of its members, Justice Jahangir, have two computer operators — a male and a female.
Once the compiling was done, the three judges collectively finalised the verdict, he added, requesting anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter.
The two computers on which the draft judgment had been composed have now been seized as detectives opened an investigation into the incident yesterday, said sources in the police.
The tribunal authorities have already “unofficially” interrogated the computer operators and several staff, the official said, adding that it was too early to name a suspect.
The official has strictly maintained that there is no possibility of leaking the draft judgment from the judges’ computers by any outsider other than the staff of the well-secured premises.
The building is secured by 24-hour police surveillance and no one can enter the building without a pass issued by the tribunal registrar’s office, he added.
The leak came as an embarrassment for the tribunal, he said, adding that the culprit(s) might have done it for money.
Meanwhile, ICT-2 Chairman Justice Obaidul Hassan and its members Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Md Shahinur Islam met the judges of ICT-1 at Justice Fazle Kabir’s office to discuss the incident.
Tribunal sources said the judges had taken the incident seriously and spoke of taking stern action against those involved in the theft.
AKM Nasiruddin Mahmud, registrar of the tribunal, told this correspondent that law enforcers were working to identify the perpetrator(s).
The whole thing was done to discredit the trial process and mislead people about the war crimes trial, he added.
Soon after the verdict, Salauddin Quader Chowdhury’s wife, Farhat Quader Chowdhury, claimed to newsmen that she had already had the copy of the judgment, saying it had been retrieved from the computer of the law secretary and that it had been written by the law ministry.
During the pronouncement of the judgment, Salauddin himself made similar claims. Certain quarters had been making identical claims on the social media since the night before the verdict.
The law minister, the state minister and the law secretary have all dismissed the claims as baseless.
Asked if the law ministry would also investigate the leak, its Secretary ASSM Zahirul Haque replied in the negative yesterday.
He also ruled out again the possibility of the verdict being leaked from the ministry, and said the ministry had no scope for involvement with the verdict.
A 164-page document, which did not contain observations or the pronouncing of the sentence, was found on different websites on Monday night with claims that it was the leaked verdict.
The original judgment is a 172-page document.
The ICT-1 on Tuesday sentenced Salauddin Quader Chowdhury to death for committing crimes against humanity and genocide during the country’s Liberation War in 1971.