What about day-to-day issues first?
DEAR government, don't you have a very, very long list of "things to do" on a priority basis to bring stability and sanity in almost all the vital sectors that affect us on a daily basis?
For example, the food sector, the education sector, the health sector, the transport sector, the energy sector, the law and order sector, the urban development sector, the rural development sector, the poverty sector, the export sector, the jute sector, the climate sector, the river management sector, the flood control sector, the drug control sector and the price control sector?
If yes, then we wonder why you suddenly decide to get busy with things that do not concern us at the moment...things you can do at a future time, if you at all want to do them. Surely, issues like evacuating the opposition political leader from her home, or bring the clock forward by one hour, or amendment of the constitution do not touch our everyday life.
Our life is not getting bogged down because of where the opposition leader resides; our life is not in jeopardy because of the caretaker system; prices do not come down if government officials wear half-sleeve shirts in office, and we are not concerned with what Mr. Jalil says every now and then.
But our life definitely gets bogged down because of intolerable traffic congestion, price hike, water crisis, electricity crisis, rising unemployment, high maternal and child mortality rate, wide-scale drug addiction, relentless fatwas and rising militancy, rising criminality, river erosion, floods, prejudiced legal system and flaws in policing. So anything other than these cannot be and must not be at the top of the "things to do" list of the government.
We are not in good shape, dear government. We were given some promises before election but today's reality makes us apprehensive of what we are going to get. That is not a good sign. So, what do you do sitting within the four walls of your cosy office room? You should be out in the open with us ... the people ... and see for yourself how we live our lives on a day-to-day basis and how we continue to face challenges that should have been taken care of long ago.
So, please step out of the air-cooled limousines and walk with us on the pavements. Your limousines only create more traffic jams. If you walk with us you will notice the signs of "lack of good governance" everywhere. Land-grabbers, hill-cutters, river-eaters, tender mongers, price-hikers, sugar-hoarders, poison-mixers, fatwa-givers, traffic-anarchists and the rest of the crime syndicates are having a field day.
But, nonchalant, you keep talking about something else that has no relevance to our day-to-day existence! For example, you are talking about building community clinics as per the original HPSP but the UHCs and THCs are not even running properly! We wonder, why don't our priorities and your priorities never enmesh?
You talk about corrupt people out to create anarchy in every sector. But it actually defies comprehension how the entire state machinery, 40-50 strong cabinet, over two hundred MPs, huge public mandate, lower courts, hundreds of magistrates, high court, supreme court, attorney general, plethora of laws, prime minister's requests, commerce minister's threats and home minister's humki-dhamki ... are proving to be least effective against a handful of criminals!
Those guys on the other side of law seem to know all the tricks in the world to "get things done" and stay out of jail. And those who are supposed to know how to stop them and how to keep them in jail, are either too weak in the legs or just equally corrupt, ready to pick up crumbs from the floor.
Go out and see for yourself how armed goons are filling up the rivers Buriganga, Turag and Shitalakhya right at this moment while their bosses are sipping tea with a sitting or former minister. Go to the warehouses of the suited-booted industrialists and find out for yourself how they are mixing poisonous substances with our food items while the bosses are enjoying a glass of whiskey in a local club.
At such confusing times we ask ourselves many questions and try to look for answers. Where does their power originate? Are those corrupt people more powerful than the government … the courts and the laws of the land? Do they always manage to get away by greasing the palms of the corrupt politicians, corrupt magistrates and corrupt members of the police force? Why are the existing laws not being implemented forcefully without fear or favour?
History tells us that the "Mafia Dons" of many countries used to give money to politicians and the police on a monthly basis to carry on with their smuggling of contraband items, gun-trading, hoarding, kidnapping, moonshine making, drug peddling and running prostitution networks. When things started to go out of hand some good people got together and decided to stem the rot. Ultimately, it required extreme measures to establish rule of law and bring order in society.
Similarly, the Bangladesh government will have to take extreme measures to strangle corruption once and for all if it wants to see success at the end of its term in office. But it will have to start by reigning in its so-called student activists who are on a "become-a-millionaire-overnight-through-tenderbazi" kind of rampage at the moment. Verily they are taking the good name of the party to the dirt.
Those handful of corrupt student elements or the corrupt syndicate members didn't vote this government to power. It is the people who did so. Therefore, the government will have to listen to what the people have to say. It will have to address the issues that affect the common man on a daily basis. Leave everything else for the future when there will be greater stability and you will feel strength in your legs.
Do not do politics now, dear government. Caretaker government system reform will only benefit one party in coming to power, or help in stopping the other from coming to power. It will not contribute to the growth of GDP or stop river erosion or help us eradicate poverty. If it did, then many countries of the world would have adopted it without a question. So, stop doing politics at a time when you should actually work.
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