GOVERNANCE in the country has deteriorated further though the government adopted a National Integrity Strategy to improve the situation in 2012, according to Transparency International Bangladesh.”A dysfunctional parliament, an all-powerful executive, an exploited judiciary, and an increasingly politicised bureaucracy and police force have essentially eroded the check and balances that are pivotal to good governance,” the TIB said in a study report released at a press conference in the capital yesterday.The anti-graft watchdog assessed the performance of 15 institutions, including the executive, parliament, judiciary, political parties, police and the media that constitute the NIS.TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said they evaluated the state of the 15 institutions from August 2012 to September 2013 after the government adopted the NIS in early 2012.Asked about the current state of governance, he said the situation has worsened further compared to the period of the study.Speaking at the press conference at Brac Centre Inn, TIB Chairperson Sultana Kamal said, “Laws are there but those are seldom enforced. This is the main reason behind the deterioration in governance.”Iftekharuzzaman mentioned that politicisation in the administration has increased, and members of law enforcement agencies have been accused of violating laws and indulging in crimes.There has been a lapse in ensuring accountability of institutions, as the Jatiya Sangsad has become an ineffective institution, he said.When do institutions break down and add to chaos? For Bangladesh several factors are prominent – the central one being that the checks and balances which exist between the executive and other branches are inherently lopsided – all power resides in the executive branch. The increasing politicization of the administration and the high levels of corruption and weak accountability have all wreaked havoc on its ability to administrate effectively. When the police fail to protect and instead extort, when the Anti Corruption Commission fails to check corruption, when directives of the High Court are willfully ignored to gain time for criminals to evade the law, then the situation is indeed grim.Everything in public life is disorganised. There is no interdepartmental coordination and nobody feels accountable. One feels sorry for the Prime Minister for heading such a dysfunctional government. Corruption is too rampant to free to guide and distort government actions everywhere.
