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Saturday, January 25, 2014

[chottala.com] Good Governance [1 Attachment]

[Attachment(s) from Modasser Hossain included below]




DGS: A Technology-based Path to Growth and Good Governance
in Bangladesh
Dr. Abdul Momen*
 
Introduction
In the olden days it was believed that 'slavery' is essential for economic wellbeing. President Abraham Lincoln proved it to be otherwise. Once it was believed that the exploitation of laborers is necessary for business prosperity but now we know that the welfare of the employees is a necessity to have sustaining business growth and success.  As country's growth and management administration fall short of their expectation, many in Bangladesh squarely blame their political leaders and claim that 'democracy is unfit' in Bangladesh. Unfortunately, evidence shows that in spite of political polarization, corruption and indiscipline, democratic governments in Bangladesh vis-à-vis civil-military-technocratic governments had superior performance. However, as the structure of Bangladeshi political governments have been closer to 'dictatorial or command system and highly centralized', therefore, fruits of democracy neither was achieved up to expectation nor reached to all segments and regions of the country.  No wonder, therefore, such system needs a thorough review and correction. However, such reform should be done under a transparent and representative government through dialogue and debates in a free society, not under emergency regulations where people's expression are limited and prejudiced.
This paper provides some empirical evidence that democratic or free economies are doing better relative to others both globally as well as regionally. Secondly, it highlights that such is true even in Bangladesh. Third, it would evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, potentials, aspirations and threats of Bangladesh economy and would suggest a 'type of administrative structure' titled as DGS that is conducive to accelerated growth and prosperity of Bangladesh. 
The DGS is a devolving type of elected 'district governor system' where major responsibilities of nation building efforts would principally pivot around 'elected and largely independent district governors' just like that of USA.  The main thrust of such system is 'creation of good governance and institutionalizing responsibility, participation, innovation, competitiveness and creativity'. Good governance is a process of accelerating development to enhance quality of life and it enables to increase self esteem and facilitate economic and social transformation. In order to have good governance, it recommends that all senior positions of the government that take strategic decisions to correct market failures like judges, secretaries, ambassadors, chair persons, director generals, et al be appointed through a process of rigorous open public hearing so that 'committed, non-corrupt, visionary and capable ' people can lead the nation. Third, the lessons of the developed countries show that minimum government, transparent rules, accountability and checks and balances are the major vehicles for accelerated growth and prosperity. Fourth, Maslow's theory of motivation, McGregor's theory of X and Y, Michael Porter's Competitive Strategy of Nuts and Bolts' and Edward Deming's TQM, a continuous process of improvement are incorporated in the proposed DGS.
An Analysis of 'Free', 'Partly Free' and 'Not Free' Governments
The Freedom House, a USA-based think tank classified the countries and territories of the world into 3 categories; (1) Free, (2) Partly Free and (3) Not Free.  A 'Free country' is one where there is broad scope for open political competition, a climate of respect for civil liberties, significant independent civic life, and independent media. Example; India, Finland, USA, or/and U.K.
 
A 'Partly Free' country is one in which there is limited respect for political and civil rights. Partly Free territories frequently suffer from an environment of corruption, weak rule of law, ethnic and religious strife and often a setting in which a single political party enjoys dominance despite the façade of limited pluralism. Example, Malaysia, Turkey, Kuwait, Bangladesh under political rule.
 
A 'Not Free' country is one where basic political rights are absent, and basic civil liberties are widely and systematically denied. Example; Burma, Egypt, Saudi Arabia or/and Pakistan (under General Musharraf). Whether you like it or not, the current Bangladesh government under a 'state of emergency' (civil laws curtailed and political expression banned) is within such group.  
 
Out of the total 218 countries and independent territories of the world in 2006, 92 are 'free', 74 are 'partly free' and 52 are 'not free'. Nearly 47% of the global population lives in 'free' territories. Those that are 'free' countries, they are generally much superior in terms of economic and social growth.  Most of the countries in African continent are 'Not Free' and they are the poorest and most disadvantaged nations on this planet earth.
 
To evaluate whether 'Free' or 'Not Free' countries are better off in terms of growth and prosperity, we examined top 100 countries under four categories. These are the (1) highest GDP per capita income (PPP basis)-whose annual GDP per capita income vary between $7,800 and $69,900, (2) highest life expectancy that vary between 71.84 and 83.51 years, (3) top 100 countries with lowest inflation rate that varied between (-) 3.6% and (+) 3.6% per annum, and (4) highest HDI (Human Development Index).
 
The GDP per capita income of Bangladesh (PPP basis) is $2,300 as per CIA Factbook 2007. That ranks it at 173rd. Its life expectancy is 62.46 years securing it the 167th position. Its inflation rate is 7.20% ranking it to 163rd position. As per HDI, it ranked 137th among 176 countries in 2006. However, its rank went down to 140th in 2007.
 
The interesting feature is; among the top countries in category #1 (GDP per capita income), 81 are 'Free (F)', 7 are 'Partly Free (PF)" and 12 are 'Not Free (NF)'.  In category #2 (life expectancy), 71 are F, 15 are PF, and 14 are NF. Among category #3 (inflation rate), 69 are F, 17 PF and 14 NF. Among the #4 category (HDI index), 65 are F, 20 PF and 15 are NF (Table 1).
 
Table 1: Top 100 Countries that achieved Highest Income, Life Expectancy, HDI
and Lowest Inflation Rate
Category
Range
Free
Partly Free
Not Free
Position of Bangladesh
#1
GDP per capita income
$7,800-$69,900
81
7
12
173rd ($2,300)
#2
Life Expectancy at birth
71.84-83.51 years
71
15
14
167th (62.46 yrs)
#3
Inflation Rate in %
(-)3.60%- 3.60%
69
17
14
163rd (7.20%)
#4
HDI
176 countries
65
20
15
140th
Source: Compilation from Freedom House, 'Freedom in the World 2007' and CIA Factbook, 2006/2007
 
Such shows that the countries that are "Free' or multi-party democracies have a higher probability of achieving growth and prosperity. Moreover, countries that are "Not Free" or run by autocratic governments (military or civil-military-technocratic oligarchy) appear to have minimum success in growth and prosperity [exception; a large number of high income countries that are Not Free belong to Oil-rich countries]. Therefore, 'free democracy' is a superior administrative structure for growth and prosperity vis-à-vis civil-military bureaucratic or technocratic or/and autocratic rule. However, one might argue that how come South Korea, Singapore and China that are not politically free could achieve miraculous growth. They are right.  However, one might be reminded that both President Park of South Korea and Prime Minister Lee Kuwan of Singapore introduced a 'system of accountability' at every level of administration and all strategic appointments and job promotions were tied to performance efficiency unlike Bangladesh where seniority, cadre and individual political or family connection are more pronounced.  In China, the societal influence of Confucian principle of meritocracy, group harmony and virtue is typically achieved through consensus building and therefore, decisions are made in cooperation. In addition, CCP (Chinese Communist Party) provided significant autonomy to the commissions and provinces even to local administration subject to oversight and such made them accountable. For example, village governments can offer a prospective enterprise favorable tax treatment in exchange for taking extra workers to alleviate local unemployment. In the U. S., State governments have the rights to offer tax and other incentives to any enterprise that may bring jobs and money to its own domain. Unfortunately, under the present system of governance such is absent in Bangladesh. Case is the debacle of the Indian Tata investment proposal.
 
 
Experience of Governance in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh
We found it to be true even for the Indian subcontinent.  Out of three main countries of the Indian subcontinent, India followed multi-party democracy, Pakistan was mainly ruled by the military junta one after another and Bangladesh is in-between; half partly-free democracy and half civil-military-technocratic oligarchy. Evidence of last 35 years (1970-2005) show that among these three, in terms of income and export growth, investment and school enrolment, India did the best followed by Bangladesh and Pakistan (see table 2).  Therefore, one can argue that civil-military oligarchic rule is not a superior form of governance even in the Indian subcontinent. 
 
Table 2: Comparative Analysis of Selected Macroeconomic Indicators of
Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, 1970-2005
 
Indicators
Bangladesh 
(50% D, 50% ND)
India
(100% D)
Pakistan
(15% D, 85% ND)
GNI Per Capita Growth %
4.6%
5.7%
4.2%
GDP Growth %
5.4
8.5
7.8
Av. Inflation Rate %
5.6
4.2
9.8
Export Growth %
16.1
19.0
15.3
GCF % of GDP
24.4
30.1
13.5
Secondary School enrolment
50.3
53.6
27.2
  Source: World Bank, ADB, Bangladesh Orthonithik Somikka, 1975-2006; D=Democratic, ND= Not Democratic
 
In the 36 years of Bangladesh (leaving the civil war reconstruction period of 1972-75) we compared few pertinent macro economic variables of 'partly free or imperfect political governments' of 1991-2006 with that of the non-democratic or civil-military-technocratic rule from 1975 through 1990. In spite of political polarization, indiscipline and corruption, there is empirical evidence that economic growth, export growth rate, saving and investment growth rates under political governments were much higher vis-à-vis civil-military oligarchic rule (see table 3). For example, average annual GDP growth rate under political rule during 1991 through 2006 was almost double and savings rate (as % GDP) was more than triple of that of the non-political governments of 1975-1990 in Bangladesh. Apart from macro-economic indicators, the performance in the socio-economic areas such as 'women empowerment', 'independence of the media like the private TVs that are essential for good governance and transparency', 'decline of infant mortality and poverty', growth of telecommunication like the Grameenphone, or 'old-age pension', 'free education for girls', 'expansion of micro credit', etc are superior under political governments maybe owing to inherent dynamism of democratic societies.  However, such achievements could further be enhanced if it could follow more mature, free and stable democracy.
 
Table 3: Comparative Analysis of Macro Economic Indicators of Bangladesh, 1975-2005
 
Indicators
Civil-military Rule
1975-1990
Political Democracy
1991-2005
Per Capita GDP Income Growth Rate %
3.9%
5.9%
GDP Growth Rate %
3.2%
5.1%
Export Growth Rate %
6.0%
10.6%
Average Inflation Rate %
9.9%
4.9%
Investment as % GDP
12.5%
21.3%
Savings as % GDP
11.0%
37.5%
Source: WB, ADB, BOS, 1975-2006
 
We use another composite criterion of 'development' developed by Nobel Laureate in Economics Professor Amartya Sen and Dr. Mahbubul Huq of Pakistan known as HDI (Human Development Index).  It measures the 'quality of human life' in different nations.  HDI is based on three measures; (1) life expectancy at birth (based on healthcare), (2) educational attainment (measured by a combination of adult literacy rate and enrolment in primary, secondary and tertiary education), and (3) whether average incomes, based on PPP estimates, are sufficient to meet basic needs of life in a country (adequate food, shelter, and health care). HDI comes closer to Sen's conception of how development should be measured than narrow economic measure such as GNI per capita--Sen also suggested inclusion of political freedom that is not included in the HDI index.
 
HDI of Bangladesh shows that while it increased a total of 75 points (0.422-0.347) during non-political governments in Bangladesh from 1975 through 1990, it increased by 125 points (0.547-0.422) during political governments in 1990-2005, almost 1.67 times more than that of the non-political (military, quasi-military, technocratic, bureaucratic) governments of Bangladesh. It is interesting to note that the increase of HDI was 58 during political period of Sheikh Hasina (1995-2000) while it varied between 18 and 30 during non-political periods from 1975 through 1990.  Moreover, HDI increased by 200 points in Bangladesh and India each from 1975 through 2005 while it increased only 184 in Pakistan, a non-political administration.
 
Table 4: Human Development Index for Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, 1975-2005
 
Year
Bangladesh
Increase (+)
Pakistan
Increase (+)
India
Increase (+)
1975
.347
--
.367
--
.419
--
1980
.365
18
.394
27
.450
31
1985
.392
27
.427
33
.487
37
1990
.422
30
.467
40
.521
34
1995
.453
31
.497
30
.551
30
2000
.511
58
.516
19
.578
27
2005
.547
36
.551
35
.619
41
 
Reason is simple. Good governance could be achieved faster under a free or/and multi-party democracy vis-à-vis autocratic government as there is transparency, consensus, check and balance, inquisitive media, public oversight and debates, and more importantly, competition and active participation of people and therefore, dynamism and innovation.  Innovation, creativity, participation and competition are the engine of growth.
 
Question is what is 'good governance'? 
Good Governance describes the process of decision-making and implementation generally by public authority in an efficient manner. It is a process of accelerating development to enhance quality of life and it enables to increase self esteem and facilitate economic and social transformation.  In fact, it is an essential component of sound economic policies. It accomplishes this in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard for the rule of law, fairness and equity. Broadly there are eight characteristics of good governance. They are (1) Participation, (2) Rule of Law, (3) Transparency, (4) Responsiveness, (5) Consensus, (6) Equity and inclusiveness, (7) Effectiveness and efficiency, and (8) Accountability.  These characteristics assure that corruption is minimized, participation is all pervasive, transparency, consensus, and accountability are norms and civil and human rights are protected by independent judiciary and incorruptible police force.
 
Just opposite to good governance, the G-8 nations comprising the U.S., Japan, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Canada and Russia consider a 'failed government' under eight categories and the perception is that the citizens of their countries would refuse extending aid and assistance even FDI to a failed government as such would tantamount to misuse of resources. A government will be considered 'a failed government' if it:
 
1.       Fails to protect life, liberty and property of its citizens
2.       Its rules and laws fail to guarantee the rights of its citizens
3.       Fails to provide the minimum medical facilities to its nationals
4.       Fails to provide minimum education to its nationals
5.       Fails to ensure a sound banking system
6.       Fails to guarantee freedom of speech, rights of civil societies, journalists and the likes
7.       Fails to ensure transparent, judicious and non-corrupt business practices and fails to guarantee impartiality of the government officials and
8.       Fails to enforce the laws of the land and the verdicts of courts.
 
However, the World Bank picked up six dimensions of good governance and they are:
1.       Voice and Accountability
2.       Political Stability and Lack of Violence/ Terrorism
3.       Government Effectiveness
4.       Regulatory Quality
5.       Rule of Law and
6.       Control of Corruption
 
They also estimated the percentile ranks of each country. The percentile ranks indicate the percentage of countries worldwide that rate below the selected country. Higher values thus indicate better governance rating.  Their rankings were estimated on the basis of many reports such as the (1) EIU: Economic Intelligence Unit (www.eiu.com) of UK, (2) WEF: World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Survey (www.weforum.org), (3) HUM: Cingranelli-Richards (CIRI) Human Rights Database (www.humanrightsdata.com), and (4) PRS: Political Risks Services, an international country risk guide of the U.S (www. prsgroup.com).   
 
How Bangladesh is doing as per global Watchdogs?
For simplicity, we present only three variables in this paper. They are number #1, #4 and #6; Voice and Accountability, Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption.
 
Table 5: Voice and Accountability
Country
EIU
PRS
1996
2000
2006
1996
2000
2006
Bangladesh
.31
.31
.19
.50
.50
.17
Pakistan
.31
.31
.25
.38
.19
.44
India
.31
.31
.50
.83
.83
.83
Malaysia
.31
.31
.44
.75
.58
.79
USA
.69
.75
.69
1.00
1.00
1.00
 
The data in Table 5 show that nearly 31% of the countries were below Bangladesh in 1996 but by year 2006, its voice and accountability declined by 12% as per EIU.  As per PRS, such decline was 33% from 2000 to 2006, much worse. While Bangladesh was above 50% of the countries in
 
Table 6: Regulatory Quality
 
Country
EIU
WEF
 
1996
2000
2006
1996
2000
2006
 
Bangladesh
.15   
.15   
 .25   
--
.40
.40
Pakistan
.35
.45
.35
--
.40
.47
India
.40
.50
.25
.39    
.50   
.54    
Malaysia
.50
.55
.60
.60
.59   
.67    
USA
.80
.85
.70
.57
.70
.65
 
2000 in terms of voice and accountability, its position sharply declined to 17% during 5 years of the BNP-Jamat coalition government mainly due to weak constitutional and administrative structure and of course, consequently government's arrogance of 'single majority power'.
 
'Regulatory Quality' of Bangladesh improved during 1996-2006 from a low of 0.15 to 0.25 as per EIU. However, this scenario remained same as per WEF.  The index shows that Bangladesh regulatory regime needs lot of improvements and the quality of its rules and regulations is still pretty poor; regulatory rules of 75% countries are superior to Bangladesh although Bangladeshis are intelligent, and their bureaucrats and educated class are said to be the crème of the society. 
 
Table 7: Control of Corruption
Country
EIU
PRS
1996
2000
2006
1996
2000
2006
Bangladesh
.25
.25
.00
.22
.22
.18
Pakistan
.00
.00
.00
.33
.33
.25
India
.25
.25
.25
,50
.33
.42
Malaysia
.50
.25
.25
.67
.42
.42
USA
.75
.75
.75
.83
.67
.67
 
In the area of 'corruption control' the situation deteriorated alarmingly since 2000 as per both EIU and the PRS reports (see table 7).  While 25% countries of the world were worse than Bangladesh in 1996 or 2000, the situation deteriorated fast so much so that by year 2006 none was worse than Bangladesh as per EIU. Basically nation's corruption control mechanism became simply inoperative and Bangladesh was perceived as the worst corrupt country in the world as per Transparency International, a Germany-based corruption watchdog.  No wonder, people demanded control of corruption and the new government took some bold but selective initiatives. Unless the corruption control measures are objective, fair, transparent, institutionalized, and more importantly, not politically motivated, they will not be sustaining or effective. 
 
Bangladesh: Is it a Country of Missed Opportunities?
Bangladesh is known as a 'country of missed opportunities' as it missed one after another golden opportunities to improve its lot; overall governance and development. It missed opportunities in 1971, 1991 and even in 2006 due to weak political leadership, short-sightedness, egoism, attitude, lack of maturity and more importantly, intervention by both civil and military bureaucracy. If the current opportunity is missed once again owing to short sightedness, prejudice, poor mindset and evil motive, it would be a shame.  One of the major drawbacks of Bangladesh is its attitude and mindset that rarely can appreciate others. For example, although Ershad's 'Upozilla" was beneficial but Khaleda Zia government abandoned it out of 'bad attitude and egoism'.
 
In fact, the growth of a nation is compared to 'building blocks', each one contributes and each one is a party to nation building efforts. The mindset of undermining one with concocted stories and fabricated cases in order to deprive or/and to eliminate competition neither help good governance or growth. History tells us that President Ayub Khan's repeated attempts to crush and silence Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib did not work. In fact, the Agarthala Conspiracy case became a spring board for mass movement. Fact of the matter is; unless fairness and objectivity is maintained, the verdicts of the Kangaroo courts could be questionable and may end in wastage of public funds.
 
The 1st Nobel laureate in literature, Rabindro Nath Tagore correctly reminded us, 'poschate tanicho jare shay tumare poschate taniche auro' (if you put someone down it would pull you down too).  He further reminded, 'bohir bissho jokon moha akashke bijoyer chesta korche, amra thokono utoner macher uporker lou kumrar mukodduma niye bastho'…..when the developed nations are trying to conquer the outer universe, we are busy in wasting our resources, wealth, time and energy in squabbling with small issues like couple of squash of the backyard mainly due to attitude. 
 
That Bengali mindset as Tagore projected unfortunately is still alive and strong and at times, such mindset overpowers the Bangladeshi leadership and governments.  This has to change to improve governance and growth more so as threats are many both internal and external, for example, rising terrorism (rise of terrorism in South Asia is the 2nd highest in the world), likely deprivation of WTO benefits, increasing unemployment and population growth, deteriorating living standards, deterioration in the capacity to compete, political vacuum and uncertainty leading to further deterioration, inefficiency and social chaos which are the hallmarks of Afghanistan and Iraq. Already in terms of availability of technology and basic infrastructure, Bangladesh is behind many of its competitors (see table 8).
 
 
Table 8:  Comparative Macro Economic Indicators, 2005
Indicator
Bangladesh
China
India
Pakistan
Malaysia
Land & Cell per 1000
37
500
85
63
766
Market Capitalization of Cos as % GDP
5%
35%
56%
42%
140%
Internet per 1000
2.2
72.5
32.4
13.2
396.8
Energy Use per capita kWh
145
903
399
463
2123
Literacy rate
60
91
61
50
89
Gross fixed capital formation as % GDP
24.4
38.7
30.1
13.5
22.6
Source: ADB, 2005, and CIA Factbook, 2007.   
 
Table 8 shows that in the area of energy use, Internet use and more importantly, in the area of market capitalization of listed companies, Bangladesh has scope for rapid improvement. Unless these are improved, Bangladesh may fall further behind. If political leaderships are punished for taking initiatives and for signing agreements to help improve the nation's economy or energy supply, the decision makers may lose confidence and the society would suffer in the long run. 'To err is human' and if such is not malicious and pre-mediated, wasting of tax payers money in order to undermine individual's popularity is bad governance and therefore, unwarranted. 
  
The Major Factors of Competitiveness
Among development experts there is a general consensus that 'innovation and creativity' is the engine of prosperity and success. Bill Gate is an example. However, they have identified nine factors of competitiveness for good governance, growth and prosperity. They are as follows:
 
  • Openness of the Economy
  • Role of Government Budget and Regulation
  • Development of Financial Markets
  • Quality of Infrastructure: two types (roads, highways, Internet, and lawyers, accountants)
  • Quality of Technology
  • Quality of Business Management
  • Labor Market Flexibility
  • Quality of Judicial and Political Institutions
  • Transaction cost, Economic cost and Transparency
 
Military-backed Government and its Reform Efforts
However, thanks to the military-backed government of Bangladesh as it initiated many commendable reforms to help improve the situation. Its initiative to kick out partisan Election Commissioners (unfortunately they were not penalized yet), forcing out the partisan Chief Advisor Dr. Iazuddin Ahmed, ineffective Anti-corruption officials, corrupt Public Service Commission members, and more importantly, its jihad against corrupt politicians and its determination to separate judiciary from the executive are commendable. However, its jihad against corrupt politicians, of late, is being perceived as 'politically motivated and prejudicial' as it aims at eliminating two former Prime Ministers (PMs) commonly known as 'minus two' strategy and as it tried to eliminate judges that give verdicts against the unlawful decisions of the government (favoring the former PMs and political leaders). Third, it is  perceived that coercion, threat, fear tactics, and unethical practices are being adopted to weaken political parties, their resolves and their leadership or/and to take away powers of the judges to give independent verdicts.  If such is true, the country may miss another opportunity as it did in the past. It is time to rise above such narrowness and prejudice for the good of the country.  More importantly, no doubt that reforms are necessary but such must not be at the cost of human rights violations and negation of civil rights as such brings disgrace to the nation.  The nation loses its goodwill that is essential in this globalize world. What is the difference between a jihadi terrorist like Bangla Bhai that execute people that he doesn't like and a government that kills its citizens extra-judiciously without due process of law? It is time to reflect and review and stop such terrorist practices. Question is; will the current efforts bring sustaining positive change? History tells us that ad hoc, non-transparent and non-institutionalized abrupt actions that have no public support and questionable, however rosy they may be, hardly succeed in the long run.  Iman Ibe Abu Hanifa was prosecuted, imprisoned and poisoned to death for his courage and leadership. But his leadership did not die; he is the leader or Imam of a large Muslim faith. Justice Shah Naimur Rahman of the Bangladesh High Court has been stricken off of his privilege to give verdicts on writ petitions as he follows the laws of the land. Question is; will it improve the image of the government?
 
How to Achieve such Good Governance in Bangladesh that can Succeed? 
The paper tried to develop a form of 'multi-party democratic government at every levels of decision making process based on modern technology' that would appropriately fit Bangladesh. Such will bring sustaining reform and will develop necessary institutions to help improve competitiveness, competition, creativity and would create necessary check and balances to achieve performance efficiency. We term such system as DGS, an essential tool of good governance.
 
What is DGS?
To guarantee individual and collective participation in the nation building, we propose a complete restructuring of the current constitutional, administrative and bureaucratic set up of the country. The existing political vacuum could be eliminated through developing a directly elected District Governors System (DGS). Under DGS, the Central Bureaucracy should be significantly downsized. The DGS is a devolving type of governance that would enhance 'competitiveness, innovation, participation, competition, and accelerated economic growth' free of abuse and corruption.  It in-builds adequate checks and balances to minimize abuses of powers, nepotism, corruption, and misuse of resources plus guarantees a system to encourage honesty, efficiency, effectiveness, innovation and competition. It aims at improving governance and at the same time reducing market imperfections. It believes that innovation and entrepreneurship, creativity and participation, competition and competitiveness are the engine of growth that could be achieved through an elected District Governor system in which the DGS would be independently responsible for both the recruitment and termination of all district level employees. It would also independently determine their salary and privileges depending on needs, resources and responsibility as is customary in the U. S.  In the U. S., the salary and privileges of each Governor or their Secretaries, Police Commissioners, and the like are different from state to state. The salary and privileges of a Governor of a rich and large state like New York is few times to that of a Governor of a small state like Arizona. Secondly, in some states the salary and privileges of a School Super is much more than that of a Governor as the state representatives put priority on education of future generation unlike Bangladesh. The salary and parks of government employees vary from state to state.
In fact, the proposed DGS represents a multi-level "republic" in Bangladesh that is being practiced in the U. S.  This time tested system will bring political stability and economic growth in the country. In USA, each state, city, and county has elected governments and such institutions have the authority to take decisions pertaining to their problems. The local government appoints police officers, administrators, education officers, social service professionals, judges, et al. Such structure ensures participation of its citizenry in the decision-making and also ensures accountability of the elected officials and their employees. The Federal government has very little to do with the local administration.  Central employees in the sectors of tax, aviation safety, national security and judicial compliance, will remain outside the jurisdiction of the District Governor.
In this new set up, the locally elected representatives will decide what to do and how to do. The role of Central Government will focus mainly on the regulations passed by the Parliament. Under such situation, the role of permanent bureaucracy will be reduced and public participation will be increased. Unless public participation in the decision-making is ensured, neither corruption nor misallocation of resources could be minimized. If the authority is vested on the bureaucrats and their "temporary" bosses (i.e. Ministers), then the contracts may be offered to special parties for personal gains ignoring public need. Bangladesh has received over $37 billion in external aid and assistance since its independence and reportedly nearly 75% were misused or pocketed.
Secondly, depending on need, each District Governor and his/her cabinet will decide what sort Secretaries or offices they need. For example, Sylhet Government may need to have a Tea Ministry while the Cox's Bazar government may need to have a Tourism Ministry. It will be up to the local administration to set up their own Ministry or Directorate as per their needs.
Third, each government will be free to design their tax policy, tax incentives and commercial regulations in order to entice investment from other regions or from abroad to have job creation in its own district.  Such practice is common in the U. S.  Under such situation, politics of competition and competitiveness and service efficiency will replace present day politics of tall talks.  Even in communist China, local communes are authorized to allow tax benefits for job creation.  
Fourth, under the proposed system, the duties and responsibilities of most of the Ministries except a few (6/7 Central Ministries), need to be delegated to the local DGS. This means, nearly 38 Ministries to be disbanded and thus central bureaucracy would reduce. However, all senior employees of the central government such as Secretaries, Ambassadors, or Judges must be appointed for a fixed renewable term from public through a process of public hearing in the parliament. Such will help eliminate sycophancy and would encourage competency, honesty, job performance and of course, accountability plus good governance.  The Head of the government may nominate his/her choice for the position, however, the parliamentary committees composed of major parties will have the constitutional rights to approve or disapprove such nomination after thread bare analysis of the nominee and his/her past performance record, attitude and character.  Such would reduce partisanship, and also arrogance or indifference of the head of the government. More importantly, those who would aspire for senior positions, they have to lead their lives under DGS in such away so that they develop a commendable tract record of performance efficiency, technical knowledge, leadership quality, personal honesty and commitment.  Under such a system, sycophancy, family linkage or monetary ties and the likes that are common in Bangladesh will give way to performance efficiency and meritocracy.   
Fifth, under the proposed DG system, competitiveness and creativity would enhance. For example, if a district gets $100 million allocation for 100% primary school enrolment and if they enroll only 60%, then they would get only 60% allocation. However, through their ingenuity if they can achieve 100% enrolment, then they would receive their full $100 million allocation (under strict supervision and oversight to evade cheating). Under such a situation, the district education officer (DEO) would try its best to design and develop superior technique through which it can achieve 100% goal. When a DEO would achieve success, he would be high in demand and other DGS would entice him/her to join them at a higher salary and privilege. Such would create an environment of competition and innovation plus job satisfaction. Remember, innovation and competition is the engine of growth.  More importantly, the allocation of federal funding will not be dependent on the personal whims of the head of the government or a Minister or a Secretary as is common in Bangladesh.
 
Sixth, safety and security is a responsibility of the local administration. If a Police Officer; a SP or an OC is corrupt, then the local administration will not transfer such a person to another district to exploit other people but they will terminate him or her.  Job security is most important to any official and once it is terminated or there is fear of termination, the officer will work diligently and honestly.  More importantly, the central government could be relieved of such daily law and order problems that otherwise take away their invaluable time and energy from nation building efforts.
 
Seventh, since each district governor will recruit their employees, there is hardly any need for transfer from one district to another.  If anyone would like to move to another district he/she may resign his/her current job and apply afresh in her/his chosen district.  Currently transfer and posting business is 'a big business' and a great scope for corruption in Bangladesh. If there is no need for transfer, such business will crumble.
 
Eighth, currently everyone has to come to Dhaka, the capital city to get his or her job done.  The Bangladesh Secretariat has become a caterpillar, an institution to stop growth and prosperity.  Such must end. Under the proposed system, no one has to come to Dhaka and over crowd it to get her/his job done. All jobs should be done at the local level and there must not be any reason for common citizens to travel to Dhaka to get permission or fund. Such will reduce overcrowding of the capital city and enhance spread of growth to other parts of the country. In the U. S., no one is required to go to Washington D. C., the federal capital, to get his or her job done. Normally, they get most of their jobs done at the local City office.
 
Ninth, many Ministries in the country are totally unnecessary such as Ministry of Information.  Each office has its Public Relations Office and such is enough. Land Revenue could be a local administrative issue, not of the central government. Under the proposed system, such unnecessary Ministries/Directorates must be dismantled to save tax payers fund.
 
Tenth, because of centralization of administration, only few officials work night and day. They have no time to reflect or review issues with seriousness. The current pyramid-type administrative structure of Bangladesh is not only duplicity of functions but more importantly, a vehicle to shift individual responsibilities.  In the process, officials remain non-committal and shy of taking decisions.  Such dysfunctional system has created a monster that delays the decision process and they are up to eat up nation's resources. Such structure must be replaced to improve governance. Each official must be entrusted with responsibility to discharge duties honestly and efficiently. Let us start believing in ourselves, let us start trusting each other.  If any individual fails to keep up one's public trust, let him/her be appropriately punished and vanished forever.   
 
Eleventh, the central government will have to have a very strong law enforcement department that will supervise the infractions and excessiveness of the local governments.  In addition, the parliament will have oversight of all local and central governments to reduce their excesses or violations of rules, regulations, values and public trust.
 
System or Personnel: Who is Responsible for the Quality of Service?
Modern Management Science recommends Total Quality Management (TQM) and it starts with active participation of all the employees and without fear.  According to Edward Deming, the father of modern-day management science, it is the system or procedure that is responsible for 80% of the fault for poor quality of a product or service, the personnel involved is responsible for the remaining 20%. Again, improvement of the situation would depend 80% on the top management's commitment and 20% on the employees. This is known as Deming's 80-20 Rule.
Secondly, McGregor's Theory X (negative assumptions about human behavior—employees dislike work, avoid responsibility, dishonest, lazy) and Theory Y (positive assumptions--self energized, committed, responsible, creative) recommend harsh punishment as well as incentives and freedom to enhance motivation, responsibility and creativity.  Our DGS may ensure such environment and opportunity.
In Bangladesh, the slow economic growth, poor service, mismanagement and large-scale corruption are not simply due to the behavior of the employees as commonly perceived. The real culprit is the current system of governance. This system has made bureaucrats and workers disrespectful to the public and non-accountable. To get service in Bangladesh, one must establish connection with the relevant bureaucrat either through family relation, personal influence, political relation or bribery. Following Deming's theory, the administrative system (or process) of Bangladesh must be changed first to improve service and productivity and to reduce corruption/misuse of powers. No government, whether popularly elected or not, can bring sanity and accountability at all levels of Bangladesh administration unless the system is restructured as outlined in the DGS.
To a few dedicated and honest bureaucrats that want to serve the people the existing system is frustrating. For example, to move a single file top management personnel have to be actively engaged. Such situation is in no way congenial to competitive growth. It needs a complete overhaul. Unless democratic governments at every level of decision-making is instituted, national growth and the quality of life of the people may not improve. The current macroeconomic achievements are not likely to improve quality of life in Bangladesh without restructuring the administration.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Major resources of Bangladesh are its people. Therefore, people must be appropriately trained and utilized in the nation building process. To attain these objectives, the country needs the "District Governor System" (DGS) whereby directly elected district governors with the active participation of the people would rebuild the nation and also can improve self governance capacity.
During the last 100 years of centralized bureaucracy in Bengal, the political uncertainty has increased, poor utilization of resources has intensified, security of life and property has declined, rule of law has deteriorated, and more importantly, corruption has become a part of everyday life and sense of responsibility has become almost extinct. Since public participation in the nation-building efforts has not been encouraged, it has resulted in socio-economic instability, apathy and frustration. Therefore, instead of ad hoc reforms, let there be substantial administrative reforms as proposed. Remember, such structural reform cannot be imposed. It has to be evolved through nation-wide dialogue and consensus. The government can create a Cell to dialogue and discuss this issue. If people truly understand the beneficial impacts and consequences of the DGS, then they would demand on their own the introduction of such system. There is no doubt that such system will improve not only self-governance but more importantly, good governance and it will lead the nation to a better and effective management system for growth, stability and prosperity.
The group of 8 industrialized countries is worried about the appropriate use of aid or funds. In addition, after the Asian financial crisis, even the international private financial lenders and investors are more sensitive to risks and good governance. They believe that aid or FDI can be useless, or worse than useless, in countries with bad governments, either because the money is simply wasted or else because it helps to keep the corrupt rulers in place. This implies that aid and FDI should be aimed mainly at countries with relatively clean and competent governments.  More importantly, tax payers across nations are becoming more sensitive and they are demanding the correct use of their resources.  Therefore, need for good governance is becoming more important.
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*Professor Abdul Momen, PhD, MBA, MPA, MA, LLB, BA (Hons), Chair, Department of Economics and Business Administration, Framingham State University, Massachusetts, USA, 2007.  
 





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