EDITORIAL : THE DAILY STAR, BANGLADESH

          

 

Speeding up development

Not at the cost of quality

We welcome the move to speed up implementation of Annual Development Programme (ADP). Slow implementation of development projects has often resulted in a substantial amount of the funds allotted remaining unused, ultimately impacting economic growth.

One major recommendation towards speeding up the implementation process -- put forward by a draft policy formulated by an inter-ministerial committee and subject to the approval of the prime minister -- is by giving concerned ministries more financial authority. This includes giving the planning ministry the authority to approve projects of up to Tk. 40 crore -- instead of the previous Tk. 25 crore -- without having to get approval from the Executive Committee on National Economic Council (Ecnec), usually a lengthy procedure which delays implementation. Previous measures taken to speed up the ADP implementation process included providing ministries with instructions regarding development projects early on and the relaxation of procurement laws.

With the new financial authority, however, comes heightened responsibility and it is our hope that the reform programmes taken by the government to prevent corruption and misuse of funds will prove effective in this regard. The specific timeframe for implementation of projects as outlined by the finance and planning ministries, as well as mandatory feasibility studies for technically complicated projects, should also prove useful. The risk of nepotism and political favouritism is, unfortunately, a common concern in our country and a system of check and balance and effective monitoring mechanisms are necessary to override these threats. Political considerations and personal benefits should not be allowed to get the better of economic projects.

All in all, our concern is with the quality of public spending, which is related to employment, provision of services and all-round national development and upliftment of the people. While we are happy with the move to speed up the process of development, we stress that it not be at the cost of quality. In the end, there should be no discrepancy between the financial and physical targets set and the ultimate result should be apparent in the betterment of the people.

Disciplining auto workshops

Apply the amended law

Auto workshops are an integral part of mechanised transportation system. Yet, by Bangladesh Automobile Workshop Owners Association's own admission, only 800 out of 20,000 automobile workshops across the country are registered with their organization itself. The question that follows is: how many of them are registered with any government authority? Or do most of them, for that matter, have trade or industry licence to operate? We have no statistics nor any database for a proliferating and ubiquitous ancillary industry that is devoted to the useful tasks of servicing and repairing motorised vehicles.

It is an important service sector hitherto left to its own devices. Unregulated, these have mushroomed all over, intruding into the residential spaces as well as on to road sides and parts of pavements. These have constricted road space, caused traffic congestion added to environmental pollution and, above all, brought suffering to people including pedestrians.

Only on March 2 new rules came into force by virtue of a gazette notification on an amendment to the Motor Vehicles Rules, 1984. These have made registration of workshops or garages with Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) mandatory.

Now, the issue is implementing the new rules. First and foremost, the rules, requirements, criteria and procedures for registration must be disseminated through the media. Then the BRTA would stipulate a time limit for registration and those who fail to comply by a specified deadline will be liable for legal action.

We urge the transport ministry and BRTA in particular to expeditiously complete the process of disciplining and standardising the auto workshops. Many of them are run in open spaces or in congested residential and business areas. Most of them employ child labour and some even harbour car-jackers. Apart from the business and service points of view, even from the law and order angle, implementation of the amended law brooks no delay.