Abu Hena :
The term ‘Governance’ reflects the growing capacity and will of the citizens to regulate and organize their own lives and transform their societies. More importantly, it means building a sustainable democratic system that is accountable and which empowers people with the information and levels of knowledge they use to become powerful citizens. The aim is to create a free society:
Where representative government, private enterprise and independent disciplines are in balance;
Where there is rule of law, a free and independent media ,a transparent and accountable administration and human rights;
Where citizens freely and willingly participate in their communities and together comprise a healthy independent body;
Where racial and ethnic diversity is not only accepted but also celebrated; and
Where economic systems and policies support and reward individual initiative and provide security for those in special need.
Governance, in short, means and aims at empowering the people to become their own governors or at least co-governors. Unfortunately, that concept is absent in Bangladesh. The government here is built on a colonial concept of autocratic authority and its image has been developed traditionally as ”stern remote and all powerful’. The administrative system is extractive and it acts as an instrument of control and domination over the common masses. The tiny governing class, mainly civil servants who work in the country’s secretariat are power blind.
They play false gods imitating the style of past colonial masters driven by a compulsive imperiousness and institutional habit of highlighting their ruling status in the eye of the public. The prime minister is the head of both the executive and the legislature. The government also controls the magistracy and the lower judiciary from district judge downwards. The concept of parliament as a public forum of governmental accountability serving as constructive check on the executive has been totally lost. The role of Supreme Court is to act as an independent organ and a constitutional watchdog over the executive and the legislature.
During the last few years the Supreme Court was turned into a cyclonic vortex. Although the Court has sailed through the storm unharmed the intention of the executive and the legislative organs was to lower down its rank and authority.
In his Gettysburg Address Lincoln spoke of ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people. ‘In order for people to rule themselves government must be accountable not just through elections, but through safeguards as they become aware of their roles in the social contract of democracy. It is the duty of the public officials to report their actions to the citizens and it is the right of the citizens to take action against officials whose conduct they consider unsatisfactory. That’s the essential element of democracy. In Bangladesh there is no system to enable citizens to inspect public records and to compel public officials to disclose their sources of income requiring candidates and political parties to disclose names of persons who contribute to their campaigns and requiring corporate meetings to be open to public.
Access to information permits citizens to challenge government actions with which they disagree and seek redress for official misconduct. According to James Madison,’ A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both.’ In the United States Freedom of Information Act allows public access to government proceedings and to government documents and records. The Whistleblower Protection Act protects federal employees who disclose information regarding violation of law, rule or regulation, gross waste of funds, mismanagement, abuse of authority or specific and substantial danger to public health and security.
The Constitution of Bangladesh contains provisions to make government accountable. But here access to government records is blocked by old colonial practice of secrecy laws which still work as protection of all governmental excesses and dishonest practices. Bangladesh lacks a proper structure of laws and regulations designed to prevent, detect and remedy dishonest conduct by government agencies and officials. Such detection and correction carried out on regular basis is in public interest. The full exercise of the people’s power and the large-scale involvement of citizens in running of government and public affairs are the decisive factors in getting rid of bureaucratic mismanagement, arbitrary administrative practices and infringement into people’s rights and freedom.
Contrary to all these government has made a draft of the Digital Security Act 2018.The draft legislation poses a threat to the freedom of press and the fundamental rights of the people. Left parties have termed the draft Digital Security Act a black law designed to safeguard the misdeeds and highhandedness of the ruling party and to guard the corrupt people.
The proposed law is a total rejection of the Right to Information Act. It is intended to further strengthen government’s control on the public, press and media. According to TIB executive director,” It is the updated version of section III of the Official Secrecy Act of 1923 on spying.
The law has inserted many clauses in the proposed Digital Security Act under section 32.”Totally rejecting the Act Barrister Mainul Hosein said that this law will rob us of our security from police arrest. The police have been empowered to arrest on mere suspicion of committing any offence under the Act. This will render it impossible for press and media to gather information freely and without hindrance.
The Act empowers police to search and arrest without warrant and then proceed for remand for interrogation. Since lower judiciary has gone under government control, the suspect has almost no chance of getting released on bail.
We must understand fully and clearly that every citizen has the inalienable right to obtain exhaustive and authentic information on any question of public importance that is not a state or military secret. All citizens have the right to freely and openly discuss any socially and politically important issue. Openness must be ensured in all stages of work in government ,including planning, enforcent and all other areas of public administration.
The term ‘Governance’ reflects the growing capacity and will of the citizens to regulate and organize their own lives and transform their societies. More importantly, it means building a sustainable democratic system that is accountable and which empowers people with the information and levels of knowledge they use to become powerful citizens. The aim is to create a free society:
Where representative government, private enterprise and independent disciplines are in balance;
Where there is rule of law, a free and independent media ,a transparent and accountable administration and human rights;
Where citizens freely and willingly participate in their communities and together comprise a healthy independent body;
Where racial and ethnic diversity is not only accepted but also celebrated; and
Where economic systems and policies support and reward individual initiative and provide security for those in special need.
Governance, in short, means and aims at empowering the people to become their own governors or at least co-governors. Unfortunately, that concept is absent in Bangladesh. The government here is built on a colonial concept of autocratic authority and its image has been developed traditionally as ”stern remote and all powerful’. The administrative system is extractive and it acts as an instrument of control and domination over the common masses. The tiny governing class, mainly civil servants who work in the country’s secretariat are power blind.
They play false gods imitating the style of past colonial masters driven by a compulsive imperiousness and institutional habit of highlighting their ruling status in the eye of the public. The prime minister is the head of both the executive and the legislature. The government also controls the magistracy and the lower judiciary from district judge downwards. The concept of parliament as a public forum of governmental accountability serving as constructive check on the executive has been totally lost. The role of Supreme Court is to act as an independent organ and a constitutional watchdog over the executive and the legislature.
During the last few years the Supreme Court was turned into a cyclonic vortex. Although the Court has sailed through the storm unharmed the intention of the executive and the legislative organs was to lower down its rank and authority.
In his Gettysburg Address Lincoln spoke of ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people. ‘In order for people to rule themselves government must be accountable not just through elections, but through safeguards as they become aware of their roles in the social contract of democracy. It is the duty of the public officials to report their actions to the citizens and it is the right of the citizens to take action against officials whose conduct they consider unsatisfactory. That’s the essential element of democracy. In Bangladesh there is no system to enable citizens to inspect public records and to compel public officials to disclose their sources of income requiring candidates and political parties to disclose names of persons who contribute to their campaigns and requiring corporate meetings to be open to public.
Access to information permits citizens to challenge government actions with which they disagree and seek redress for official misconduct. According to James Madison,’ A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both.’ In the United States Freedom of Information Act allows public access to government proceedings and to government documents and records. The Whistleblower Protection Act protects federal employees who disclose information regarding violation of law, rule or regulation, gross waste of funds, mismanagement, abuse of authority or specific and substantial danger to public health and security.
The Constitution of Bangladesh contains provisions to make government accountable. But here access to government records is blocked by old colonial practice of secrecy laws which still work as protection of all governmental excesses and dishonest practices. Bangladesh lacks a proper structure of laws and regulations designed to prevent, detect and remedy dishonest conduct by government agencies and officials. Such detection and correction carried out on regular basis is in public interest. The full exercise of the people’s power and the large-scale involvement of citizens in running of government and public affairs are the decisive factors in getting rid of bureaucratic mismanagement, arbitrary administrative practices and infringement into people’s rights and freedom.
Contrary to all these government has made a draft of the Digital Security Act 2018.The draft legislation poses a threat to the freedom of press and the fundamental rights of the people. Left parties have termed the draft Digital Security Act a black law designed to safeguard the misdeeds and highhandedness of the ruling party and to guard the corrupt people.
The proposed law is a total rejection of the Right to Information Act. It is intended to further strengthen government’s control on the public, press and media. According to TIB executive director,” It is the updated version of section III of the Official Secrecy Act of 1923 on spying.
The law has inserted many clauses in the proposed Digital Security Act under section 32.”Totally rejecting the Act Barrister Mainul Hosein said that this law will rob us of our security from police arrest. The police have been empowered to arrest on mere suspicion of committing any offence under the Act. This will render it impossible for press and media to gather information freely and without hindrance.
The Act empowers police to search and arrest without warrant and then proceed for remand for interrogation. Since lower judiciary has gone under government control, the suspect has almost no chance of getting released on bail.
We must understand fully and clearly that every citizen has the inalienable right to obtain exhaustive and authentic information on any question of public importance that is not a state or military secret. All citizens have the right to freely and openly discuss any socially and politically important issue. Openness must be ensured in all stages of work in government ,including planning, enforcent and all other areas of public administration.
(Writer was a Member of Parliament in 7th and 8th Parliaments)
