The administration has been heavily politicised. It was gradually turned into a platform to protect party interests. But bureaucracy should be strong for a country to stand firm.
However, a trend of subduing the bureaucracy has prevailed for a long due to weak politics and government. Political commitment is needed for bureaucracy to stand strong with professionalism. It will never be strong when the politics is not in the right direction.
Speakers at a roundtable on reform of the public administration held at the Daily Star Centre on Wednesday made these remarks. The United Nations Development Plan (UNDP) organised the roundtable in association with the Daily Star.
Administrative officials, secretaries, teachers and members of the Public Administration Reform Commission joined the roundtable titled ‘Transforming Public Administration: Overcoming Challenge and Shaping Reforms’.
Presenting the keynote, professor at the department of development studies of Dhaka University Quazi Maruful Islam said that the problems are clear to us.
The factors behind how an unaccountable government administration that gradually gives rise to a fascist regime existed in Bangladesh for so long and continue with its practices, were not created in just 10 days or 10 years.
It had been in the making for a long time. These crises are not unfamiliar. Unfortunately the administration, where people are recruited in the civil service based on talent, has been gradually turned into a major medium of preserving the party interest, he added.
Member of the public administration reform commission and former additional secretary Rizwan Khayer said that reforms have to be carried out in the public administration through a long term planning and that has to be started right now.
Another member of the public administration reform commission Khondaker Mohammad Aminur Rahman said that there have been 17 commissions or committees on this issue before but with no avail. Now they are trying to ensure their concerns recommendations do not also meet same the same consequence.
The current government is accountable. So, they are hoping that the government will accept their recommendations to make the bureaucracy people-oriented.
‘Bureaucracy is like a horse’
Rector of BCS Administration Academy and secretary of the government, Omar Faruq said the bureaucrats are blamed in many ways. However, the mindset to look at the bureaucrats from the inside or any such efforts is hardly there.
Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan turned around from a devastated situation and became advanced nations by strengthening bureaucracy.Ferdaus Arfina Osman, profession, department of public administration, DU
There should be such an attempt to look deeper. There is also the question of measuring to what extent the bureaucrats are to be blamed, he added.
Referring to a book titled ‘Amlatontrer Ghora’ Omar Faruq said, “Bureaucracy is like a horse actually. If we (bureaucrats) are the horse, the politicians are the riders. So, we cannot follow go in any direction other than the direction of the politicians.” If politics does not change for the better neither will the bureaucracy or administration, he believes.
Former chair of the public administration department at Dhaka University and member of the local government reform commission professor Ferdous Arfina Osman asked, “Do we want to see public administration as just a tool for delivering services, or as a tool for building the state?”
She said, “If we look at the East Asian countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia or even Japan, we will see that these countries have bounced back from a completely devastated situation to become advanced nations by strengthening bureaucracy. We have never thought about bureaucracy like that since independence.”
Professor Arfina also added that bureaucracy has never been connected with democracy actually. Democracy is always fragile. Politics was weak and the government was weak and that’s why there was always a focus on how to keep bureaucracy subdued. Even bureaucracy never stood up firmly with its institutional values and its own dignity.
To summarise the discussion assistant resident representative of UNDP Anowarul Haq said that one particular issue has come up frequently in the discussion, which is a democratic system and how will be the nature of the public administration in that system? That’s highly significant.
Among others local government reform commission member and human rights activist Ilira Dewan, additional secretary at the ministry of public administration Mizanur Rahman, additional secretary of the information and communication technology department Abu Sayeed Md Kamruzzaman, professor at the department of development studies of Dhaka University Asif Mohammad Shayan, member of national citizens’ committee Azhar Uddin, director of Bangladesh public administration training centre Md Abu Zafar Ripon, representative of the European Union Marga Peeters, representative of the British High Commission Neil Gandhi, assistant professor of Comilla University Krishna Kumar Saha, head of business development at Intellion Techbridge Kamrul Islam Khan, senior governance advisor at the UNDP Bangladesh office Nazia Hashmi, Mohammad Sirajul Islam of BRAC, and student of Dhaka University Maisha Farah spoke at the roundtable moderated by in-charge of NGO and foreign mission at Daily Star Tanjim Ferdous.