Cabinet Changes
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's cabinet needed expansion. This it got to some extent on the last day of '97. It also needed serious restructuring which it did not get. Several of her ministers needed to be pulled up, and some should have been given the boot. That also did not happen, except in one well deserved case. So how are we to interpret the latest cabinet reshuffle? Timid, half-hearted and without any overall plan at best, and just to placate a few disgruntled souls at worse.
Cabinet reshuffle as an instrument of better governance is hardly understood by our governments. Khaleda Zia considered a reshuffle almost as an insult to her original judgement and so hardly ever indulged in it. Sheikh Hasina has so far appeared more forthcoming but mostly without any overall vision. Reshuffle can give a new direction to the government, create greater enthusiasm about its future line of action or streamline the rest of the cabinet . None of this was attempted in this case.
We call it timid and half-hearted because after more than 16 months at the helm of affairs the PM knows the ministers who are delivering and who are not. Just look at the ADP implementation rate and the picture becomes clear. Efficiency does not seem to rate very high in this government. Clearly sycophancy, which is often misunderstood as loyalty and commitment, gets much higher premium than efficiency, professionalism, knowledge about the subject that is being dealt with, or even vision. And this is on the rise, as the government suffers the natural erosion of popularity that follows the coming to power of an elected government.
Our view is that Sheikh Hasina needed and, therefore, got herself some additional help. But she did not address the fundamental problem that some ministers, including herself, are holding too many portfolios which are not being looked after properly due to lack of full time ministers. After a year and half, there is now a great deal of disappointment. Important decisions have not been taken, vital projects remain unattended to, and even routine work incur unthinkable and unpardonable delays. The government needs to gather speed, determination and direction. The cabinet changes did not address them at all.
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