Who will bell the cat at BRTC?

The road transport and bridges minister's remark that he is well aware of what is going on in the trouble-ridden Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) comes across as more of an admission than an observation although he deserves kudos for saying as much, given that very few top officials acknowledge problems in their respective institutions—that too rarely. But he was merely confirming what is already well known. Hardly anyone would disagree when he says that the BRTC does not have a good reputation and that "irregularities and corruption have long reigned supreme here". The minister's statement, as reported by this newspaper, is full of question marks reflecting a mix of irritation and frustration, but it comes short of providing a solution which he is expected to do as the top official in the road transport sector.

Corruption and irregularities are indeed the biggest problems at the state-owned institution. We have repeatedly highlighted how corrupt officials, sheltered from consequences by a culture of impunity that dogs the administration, are rendering many of its initiatives and projects ineffective. The recent shutdown of a BRTC depot by workers and drivers deprived of months of arrears is a case in point. The strike, which was later withdrawn, wouldn't have occurred had the Corporation addressed its longstanding problems of poor management, retrograde planning and deep-seated corruption which have turned it into a consistently loss-making entity despite regular cash and resources injections. The BRTC needs a major overhaul, starting with a divorce from its business-as-usual approach and establishing accountability in all layers of its service delivery mechanism, and a sustainable source of income which will help it grow on its own.