Telecom ministry’s curious gift of phones for JS body members

It is a clear instance of conflict of interest which compromises the capacity of the standing committee to independently discharge their responsibilities. Questions can also be raised if and on what basis such expenses by the committee can be justified, and why phone sets need to be bought with taxpayers' money for highly-paid JS body members.

— Iftekharuzzaman TIB Executive Director

In a show of conflict of interest, members of the parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Post, Telecommunications and Information Technology yesterday received mobile handsets produced in Bangabandhu Hi-Tech City.

The information and communication technology division of the ministry gave each lawmaker of the parliamentary watchdog a "high-quality" handset worth Tk 14,000 for free, according to the meeting of the JS body.

The meeting was held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

In the previous meeting, Nurul Amin, a member of the JS body, said the gadgets manufactured in Bangabandhu Hi-Tech City are produced under the ministry and their quality needs assessment.

The committee members were also promised the mobile phone sets. Later, State Minister for ICT division Zunaid Ahmed Palak said, Md Nurul Amin wanted to buy laptops and smartphones produced by the Telephone Shilpa Sangstha (TSS) at a fair price.

The junior minister mentioned that Nokia sets are being manufactured at the Hi-Tech Park, costing Tk 14,000 each and the sets manufactured in Bangabandhu Hi-Tech City will be bought and given as a gift to all committee members.

Minister of Post and Telecommunication Mustafa Jabbar said currently 15 mobile companies are producing mobile sets in Bangladesh to meet the demands of nearly 90 percent of domestic customers. A portion of these phone sets are also being exported, he mentioned. He said arrangements will be made to provide mobile sets and laptops at minimum prices according to the needs of lawmakers.

Later, in the meeting, it was decided that these high-quality Nokia sets will be bought and presented to all committee members. When asked, Transparency International Bangladesh Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman told this correspondent that it is a clear instance of conflict of interest which compromises the capacity of the standing committee to independently discharge their responsibilities.

"Questions can also be raised if and on what basis such expenses by the committee can be justified, and why phone sets need to be bought with taxpayers' money for highly-paid JS body members," he added.

FAILURE OF DOEL LAPTOP

In the meeting, Zunaid Ahmed Palak wanted to know the reasons for the failure of the "Doel" laptop production project of the Telephone Shilpa Sangstha.

The state minister said those responsible will be identified and punished after a proper investigation.

He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Doel project. "The pride which we took with that initiative is lost and we are embarrassed," he said.

Agreeing with Palak, Mustafa Jabbar instructed the secretary of the ministry to take action in this regard, according to the meeting minutes.

The minutes were approved in the parliamentary committee's meeting held yesterday.

In 2011, state-owned TSS assembled the country's first laptop Doel, showing promises to deliver the device at an affordable price and help the government implement its digitisation agenda.

Hasina launched the laptop named after the country's national bird.

TSS officials pledged to make the devices available to the public and tens of millions of students.

Four models of the laptop were introduced initially, which gained a lot of attention, particularly the most basic model priced at Tk 10,000.

However, the excitement evaporated quickly with the customers losing interest in the laptop owing to its poor performance, severely damaging the brand image.