CPA conference

The CPA conference is the biggest of its kind ever held in this country. It is a point of convergence for lawmakers from so many countries and an occasion for some truly enlightening deliberations on parliamentary democracy and other related issues.

Though the organisers of the meet had to absorb the initial shock of the opposition boycott, it was not expected to overshadow the overall management. Unfortunately, some lapses caused by lack of planning and coordination called into question the efficiency of the organisers. Protocol and diplomatic norms were broken as the foreign dignitaries started arriving in Dhaka. Commonwealth Secretary General Don MacKinnon is reported to have been left alone at the airport for some time, as there was nobody to receive him. He was finally lodged at the hotel designated for him after some amateurish handling of the matter.

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The problem that the deputy foreign minister of Kenya faced was rather different. He expressed his anguish at being cloistered at the hotel room with little freedom to move or communicate. Security concern was the overriding factor here, but the organisers should have been careful enough to make sure that the honourable guest did not feel offended. There were some more incidents that caused a great deal of embarrassment both to the organisers and the guests.

We would like to emphasise to our guests that the problems did not crop up due to lack of sincerity or friendly warmth on the part of the organisers. Rather, lack of experience began to tell when the organisers had to perform the task of coordinating everything. Here, they were not doing very well as the incidents of mismanagement clearly suggest.

Bangladesh has a long tradition of being a hospitable country, caring a lot about guests and visitors. The organisers should have made some special efforts to uphold the tradition through conducting everything smoothly.

The conference will continue for three more days and that is the time when the organisers will have to raise their level of performance and ensure that our guests return home with pleasant memories of their stay in Bangladesh.