DCC polls uncertain
The government has again appointed administrators to two Dhaka city corporations for six months, showing its unwillingness to hold elections to get public representatives even two and a half years after the erstwhile DCC's bifurcation.
The public administration ministry yesterday appointed Mohammad Ibrahim Hossain Khan, an additional secretary who had been officer on special duty and attached to the land ministry, as administrator of Dhaka South City Corporation, 13 days after the post fell vacant.
Faruk Jalil, another additional secretary of the Directorate of Primary Education, was appointed on May 18 as administrator of Dhaka North City Corporation. He, however, joined the job yesterday, nine days after the six-month tenure of his predecessor had expired.
Earlier, ten administrators were appointed in five phases.
The government claims that it split the DCC to improve services for city dwellers. In reality, though, garbage management, mosquito control activities and maintenance of city streets, which are the main jobs of the corporations, have deteriorated.
City dwellers have complained of facing problems when they try to obtain different certificates from the 10 zonal offices of DSCC and DNCC. Staff of both city corporations demand bribes for issuing certificates like citizenship certificates and heir certificates, they allege. Earlier, people did not have to pay bribes and could get certificates by paying nominal fees.
Elections to the 120 councillors' posts have not also been held since the bifurcation in November 2011. Only 10 zonal officers, one in each zone, perform the duties of councillors.
Unlike councillors, the zonal officials ask people to submit a huge number of papers to get certificates. The process used to be very simple and bribe-free when councillors dealt with such matters, city residents say.
Meanwhile, the new administrators joined work late because the government was trying to appoint political persons to the posts instead of admin cadre officials, said a source in the public administration ministry.
Faruk Jalil, however, cited personal reasons for his delay in joining as administrator of DNCC.
In the meantime, day-to-day activities of the corporations had been hampered. Many decisions on financial, administrative and policy matters had been awaiting administrators' approval, said officials of both city corporations.
The preparation of the corporations' budgets for fiscal year 2014-15 has remained suspended. Usually, city corporations announce their budgets between June and July, the officials said.
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