Blaming bureaucracy for governance failure now makes no sense

Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, the adviser in charge of the Ministries of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Roads and Bridges, and Railways was at his oratorical best when he was grilling bureaucracy during an inauguration of a programme held at the BRTC Training Institute in the city on January 27. That he did not forget to mention he himself was a civil servant certainly goes to his credit and at the same time authenticates the disparaging observations he made on bureaucrats. At some point he told the audience that someone wished that the fighter jet crashed into the secretariat instead of Milestone School. 

However much his emotional outburst may be appreciated, the expression of ill wish of this order should leave a bad taste in his and the appreciative audience's mouths. Bureaucrats may be incompetent and even intriguing, but this does not mean someone has to wish them a violently tragic death. Otherwise, the barrage of criticism directed at the bungling bureaucracy is not viewed by knowledgeable people as an exaggeration. When the adviser says that the bureaucracy is pressing on the chest of the nation like a heavily crushing stone, he echoes the sentiment of the general public. 

Then he says that these civil servants would not allow any change to the old order. They are anti-progress and would intriguingly stall programmes scheduled for execution. He feels frustrated that things could not be done because of the opposition from the bureaucrats at every step. As long as the bureaucracy stays impervious, progress of the nation is impossible. It is so mindless to defend only its own interests no matter if the nation goes to hell. Such are the strong words he used interposed with invectives. 

Now the question is, why does the adviser expose the malfunctioning bureaucratic behemoth at this late stage of the tenure of the interim government? If he could not discharge his responsibilities in the face of opposition or ill manoeuvre by the bureaucrats, why did he not make it public after a month or two? He is representing a government that has taken up programmes beyond an unelected government's power while ignoring those that had to be addressed on a priority basis. Leasing out seaport terminals to foreign companies is one such programme with immense consequences. Wonder of wonders is the formation of a pay commission for enhancement of salaries for the very bureaucrats whom the adviser has castigated virulently. 

It was, he admits, done under pressure. But do his cabinet colleagues, the chief adviser in particular, subscribe to his view? In fact, the government's heavy reliance on bureaucracy was clear from the start. Had the government acted decisively right from the beginning, reminding the bureaucrats that they were part of the deposed government and were to be accountable for the misdeeds and crimes committed during the July-August uprising, they would not feel the need to appease civil servant. The interim cabinet failed to exercise its authority at that critical juncture and the bureaucracy got the breathing time by default to regroup and control the system of governance. 

There is no point complaining when the general election is only days away. The government has failed where it was duty-bound to perform and performed where it had no business to do. Justice Shahabuddin as head of the caretaker government knew his limit and did not make a mess of law and order like this government. From the day one, this interim government turned a blind eye to law and order and the country finds itself in a state marked by unrelenting violence. This is corroborated by the Manobadhikar Sangskriti Foundation's report released on the last day of the previous month. Compared to December 2025, the number of the killed in mob violence and public lynching has more than doubled. As many as 21 people lost their lives in 28 such brutal incidents as against 10 in 24 incidents in December last.  

How can such a rise in casualties be accepted in the month just before election? Neither the government nor the bureaucracy seems to be perturbed by such alarming developments. This is the time when the government performs routine duty not inks agreements on serious national issues. In fact, the Election Commission ought to rule supreme in order to ensure holding election freely and fairly. The bureaucracy has to function under EC instructions.  

Without creating an enabling environment for the EC to conduct election, the interim government comes up with the pay commission report! The bureaucracy that has to its dubious credit the lowest ever execution of annual development programme (ADP) in decades had to be censured and made accountable for the poor execution, not rewarded. But the interim government has failed miserably to exercise its authority and at this last stage no vituperation can right the wrong. The nation, therefore, has to keep its fingers crossed about holding the election peacefully. 

nilratanhalder2000@yahoo.com