No good governance without austerity

THE terms mentioned above are not mutually inclusive. There is common ground in our general understanding of austerity and good governance. Good governance requires optimal use of resources for the benefit of the maximum number of people, if not all. Austerity is against wastage of resources and prudent management of whatever is available. There are also common grounds regarding good governance and human rights. Human right is all about ensuring social justice, equality and dignity of people. To effectively deliver these three requires good governance. Human rights aim at enabling individuals to collectively develop their best selves -- something that can only be achieved via good governance.
It is pertinent to ask whether austerity is inconsistent with human rights. It may be argued that austerity measures have negative impact on the enforcement of human rights because they curb expenditure on welfare programmes that promote human rights. Austerity measures lead to job losses and the reduction of entitlements of those acutely in need. It appears that implementation of austerity programmes can act against the needs of individuals and therefore go against social efforts to protect human rights.
It is necessary to remember that good governance and the enforcement of human rights are both ends in themselves. Austerity, however, is something that does not need to be pursued for its own sake. It is a means that has to be used from time to time in the interest of good governance.
In a country like Bangladesh, austerity, at this moment, is an economic imperative. The recessionary trends that are so conspicuous in the world economy have an important bearing on the economy of Bangladesh, where the majority of the people live in rural areas. Most depend on subsistence level of agriculture for their livelihoods.
The RMG industry has successfully created employment for the rural poor and still continues to do so. However, the global economic downturn may have an adverse impact. The global recession can also prevent the export of manpower to more industrially advance countries. It is necessary for austerity and good governance to work in tandem, taking into account both the national and the international contexts.
In the present Bangladesh, austerity should not be seen as something inconsistent with human rights enforcement. It is essential to eradicate corruption, reduce administrative costs and curtail other unnecessary government expenditures. Resources have to be allocated most efficiently for the welfare of the people. Austerity can assist us in the pursuit of good governance as well as human rights enforcement.
In Bangladesh, as in many others parts of the world, human rights are threatened most by counter-terrorism activities. Even with democratic institutions apparently functioning, counter-terrorism is turning many countries into police states. Disappearance of people, death of people in state custody without trial, and the detention of people without specific charges have all become prevalent controversies in today's world.
The war on terror has bred apathy regarding civil liberties, the key component of human rights, amongst many governments in the modern world. This is something that is yet to be understood by the all in Bangladesh. No individual or institution is authorised with a license to kill people. We cannot afford to allow our country to be degraded into a police state with a democratic facade.
In Bangladesh those in power, those in the opposition and those claiming to represent civil society have to work in concert to evolve a consensus that will ensure good governance for the people. Hence, contain and eradicate terrorism in the country without violating human rights. Dire need is also to ensure that the impact of asceticism on good governance causes minimal damage to human rights.
Finally, to implement the Covenant for the United Nations in regard to the present scenario of Bangladesh, much work needs to be done to ratify the International Human Rights code and ensure adequate standard of living, which also includes food, clothing, housing and social security rights.
The writer is an entrepreneur and General Secretary, International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) Bangladesh.
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