Financial Express Bangladesh; Dhaka, Tuesday April 26 2011,
Former adviser to the caretaker government Dr Akbar Ali Khan Monday said transparency and accountability in the country's bureaucratic system cannot be established without strong political commitment and neutral bureaucracy.
He said a number of civil servants in the public administration were appointed considering their political attachment instead of efficiency and capability, which is one of the main causes for the absence of accountability and transparency in the administration.
"It should be stopped for ensuring good governance," he said at a seminar titled 'Ensuring Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration: Bangladesh Perspective.'
The seminar was jointly organised by Dhaka School of Economics and Bangladesh Economic Association where participants urged the democratic government to make effective independent institutions like Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Bangladesh Standards Testing Institute, Public Service Commission (PSC) and institutions concern with targeted transparency.
"The first watchdog for accountability is internal control and audit. These mechanisms are largely ineffective in Bangladesh and need to be overhauled," Mr Khan said, adding that only strong political will can ensure it.
The ex-adviser to the caretaker government said the categorical constitutional directives to set up elected district councils were bypassed by successive governments. "In such an environment, transparency and accountability cannot be improved without decentralisation of power."
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said Right to Information Act (RTI) can be used as an important tool in this connection as civil servants often conceal information, which is one of the main barriers to ensuring transparency and accountability in the administration.
"The scenario will not improve in coming days if the mentality of our politicians is not changed," he said, adding that nearly 55 per cent members of the parliament are businessmen to whom politics is treated as investment.
"After coming to power the businessmen-cum-politicians are engaged in capitalising on the opportunity to fulfil their business interests instead of national interests," the TIB executive director said.
He said the main reason for the inefficiency of the performance appraisal system in Bangladesh is that it evaluates only personal traits and not actual performance.
"Only 8 per cent marks are awarded for quality and quantity of work whereas the rest marks are assigned for personality traits," he added.
"We have failed to make public administration pro-people over the last 40 years," Justice Kazi Ebadul Haque said while speaking as the chief guest.
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