No Nonsense
Parameters of good governance
Never before in its 36 years has the nation ever faced the prospect of running under good governance. The pandemonium and pre-election bedlam that brought the nation to the brink of a civil war -- averted at the last moment by imposition of the 1/11 state of emergency -- must never creep in again.
However, some of the players of those sordid politics, who nearly emptied the nation's exchequer, and are now seemingly tiptoeing out of the on-going anti-corruption net, are raising a hideous call for a joint movement to free the allegedly corrupt party chiefs who are in detention awaiting trial.
Former chief whip Delwar Hossain, infamously identified with "splitting parliament cafeteria-groceries," is calling for a joint movement with AL to free both former premiers from detention before they're tried by legal processes. The idiocy of such a scheme would only prolong the state of emergency, to the detriment of party politics and democracy.
Delwar's premise, having Khaleda and Hasina in prison will retard the advancement of democracy and political reforms, is simply preposterous. One wonders how anyone can make a prognosis that democracy will be debased by the absence of those who only gave lip-service to democracy for power and self-aggrandisement.
Although there's no alternative to democracy and elected government, the transition from current governance to the rule by political faces may beget an uneasy optimism amongst the people as the 2008 election approaches nearer and nearer. The nation has to be assured that the next political party or political alliance coming to power will follow all the parameters of good governance instituted by this CTG, and then some.
Last week, on September 23, the Law Adviser Mainul Hosein told reporters that the interim government was working on two ordinances: introduction of government attorney service to make the separation of the judiciary functional, and formation of the National Constitutional Council (NCC) for appointing qualified individuals to constitutional offices in a "transparent and accountable manner."
This august body, the NCC, will be entrusted to recommend qualified individuals for appointment as justices to the Supreme Court (SC), Election Commission (EC), Public Service Commission (PSC), and Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) -- a move that, once it becomes a reality, is expected to shield these institutions from mucky politicisation and manipulation by the politicians.
Both ordinances are highly significant on many counts. The existing system appoints attorneys on political considerations, who are usually discharged with the change of the party in power. This system frequently fashions the judiciary into a politicised tool of the government -- one that has now painstakingly evolved into the much-desired shape of an independent judiciary.
The interim government's move to form the NCC (under the chairmanship of SC chief justice) is a bold and progressive move. A properly functioning NCC will certainly relieve the nation and the future CTG from the sordid controversies over the appointment of individuals to constitutional bodies of the country.
To achieve good governance, efficient functioning of these four bodies cannot be over- accentuated. However, they must be complemented by four other institutions -- two from the public sector, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and Bangladesh Bank (BB), and two from the private sector, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI), and the news media.
The four constitutional bodies, plus the BB, are currently headed by individuals with unassailable qualities.
Sadaat was my year mate at Dhaka University -- a long time friend and an outstanding guy who used to act as if he was the smarter one, although I am the one who studied physics. I have no doubt that he will leave his imprint in the PSC, with reforms which the nation will admire long after his retirement.
I believe the ACC chairman is a rare personality -- one whose penchant for doing "what is right" cannot be surpassed by anyone except by him. The same can easily be labeled about the CEC, NBR chairman, and BB governor.
Freedom of press is the ultimate guarantor of a well functioning democracy reflecting the voices of the people while efficient and honest businesses operations guarantee economic growth and poverty reduction through investment and employment expansion. The FBCCI must, however, strive to disassociate businessman from mixing business with politics
One may wonder how we should assess the contributions of the six institutions vis-à-vis good governance. It must be realised that none of the bodies can deliver good governance in isolation-- they must work in unison and accordingly I assigned their importance (total weight is 1.0 or 100%) as follows: Judiciary (30%), EC (20%), ACC (20%), PSC (20%), NBR (5%), BB (5%). The contributions of the FBCCI and the news media would count only if the six institutions function as expected.
To avoid possible misinterpretation of the percentages in parentheses by any reader I may reiterate that they merely reflect my prior subjective hunch (subject to empirical proof) that if we had achieved good governance, then 30% would be attributable to the operation of an independent judiciary, while EC, ACC, and PSC would account for 20% each and so on. Once again, these "priors" are meaningful only if all these institutions function efficiently as team players.
The subjective priorities will change (called parameter shift), depending on the introduction of new rules or ordinances affecting the modus operandi of these institutions. To a statistician (or an econometrician), the "dependent variable" here is "good governance," and the remaining six institutions are "explanatory variables."
To re-emphasise, the EC with the help of political parties must ensure that truly honest and altruistic people are nominated for parliamentary elections. Otherwise, nothing would matter much. "No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session," Mark Twain once said in abhorrence of the US Congress.
Dr. Abdullah A. Dewan is Professor of Economics at Eastern Michigan University.
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