MANY elected representatives and leaders of ruling party are now engaged in looting relief materials, especially rice, in different parts of the country. The relief items were sanctioned by the government to distribute among the poor people when majority of them cannot go to work due to official shutdown to tackle outbreak of coronavirus. Newspapers reported that chairmen and members of different upazilas and union parishads along with leaders of Awami League local units are mainly involved in such illegal activities. Recently, the law-enforcers have arrested a number of local representatives and political leaders and recovered several thousand sacks of rice from their houses or storehouses in different areas. A large number of the accused persons have also gone into hiding after relief materials were recovered. What’s very unfortunate is that despite repeated warnings from party high-ups the looters can’t stop themselves from stealing poor people’s rice.
It seems chain of command in the ruling party’s grassroot levels is not working at this stage. The local representatives have become mad for making some extra money by any means. Situation has reached to such an extent that the Anti-Corruption Commission has decided to monitor the relief distribution activities in coordination with deputy commissioners. In a recent statement ACC said: “We have learned through media and our own intelligence that some people are involved in irregularities and grafts in distributing relief under the government’s social safety net programme in this critical period.” We’re not sure what can ACC do in this regard when outbreak of coronavirus has created a disorderly situation everywhere. Nobody is paying attention to the administrative directives. The government machinery has also failed to ensure proper service, including uninterrupted supply of food and other materials, during shutdown period. So, poor people are coming out on the streets breaking health rules of social distancing to get some food.
Stealing people’s relief materials by the party-patronised thieves is an old practice. Having enough knowledge of such incidents, why the government has decided to depend on such corrupt representatives again to implement an import programme, still remains a big question.
It seems chain of command in the ruling party’s grassroot levels is not working at this stage. The local representatives have become mad for making some extra money by any means. Situation has reached to such an extent that the Anti-Corruption Commission has decided to monitor the relief distribution activities in coordination with deputy commissioners. In a recent statement ACC said: “We have learned through media and our own intelligence that some people are involved in irregularities and grafts in distributing relief under the government’s social safety net programme in this critical period.” We’re not sure what can ACC do in this regard when outbreak of coronavirus has created a disorderly situation everywhere. Nobody is paying attention to the administrative directives. The government machinery has also failed to ensure proper service, including uninterrupted supply of food and other materials, during shutdown period. So, poor people are coming out on the streets breaking health rules of social distancing to get some food.
Stealing people’s relief materials by the party-patronised thieves is an old practice. Having enough knowledge of such incidents, why the government has decided to depend on such corrupt representatives again to implement an import programme, still remains a big question.
