Md. Atikur Rahman :
Bangladesh’s biggest problem is its huge population, which is unimaginably huge compared to its geographical size and natural resources. Besides, lack of good governance in every sector of the country is also a problem. At present, due to the growing population, the various development activities undertaken by the government are being hampered. At the same time it is having a serious impact on the environment. As a result of excessive population growth, the basic human needs are being deprived of all kinds of state and social facilities including food, clothing, education, medical treatment, housing. As a result, poverty, unemployment, housing crisis, food problem, crime, terrorism, corruption, malnutrition, begging, drug addiction, insecurity and many other problems are increasing in the society. Overpopulation is one of the most complex problems that can lead to poor quality of life.
High population growth is putting pressure on the limited resources of developing countries and is wreaking havoc in various sectors. At present, the growing population, poor governance and corruption are directly affecting the lives of all citizens of the country, rich and poor alike. Now more or less most of the people of this country are victims of this corruption. As we all know, most of the development in this country is being hampered by the effects of corruption. Rising commodity prices and lack of good governance in the country, corruption in various sectors has become a major obstacle to our national growth. Without ending this situation, the result of upward growth in the country and declaring the country as a middle income country may be disastrous, which is not desirable. The direct and indirect effects of corruption at the root of extreme poverty, deteriorating law and order, continued terrorism, extortion, insecurity, social degradation, waste of resources, embezzlement, misuse, etc. are very clear.
In the interest of national development of the country and extreme inequality among the people as well as bringing national growth, the government and its people must play an effective role in preventing corruption. They have to take an oath from their respective positions – I will not do corruption myself, I will not allow anyone else to do it. In addition to enforcing the oath, the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission is empowered to function independently, administrative reform, stop party recruitment, ensure transparency and accountability within the organization, enforce the ombudsman, remove all influence from independent law and judiciary, speedy trial and punishment.
Ensuring legislation, empowering civil society, empowering local government, decentralizing central power, strengthening administrative tribunals, protecting consumer rights, empowering and freeing the media to express their views freely, changing the mindset of political leaders are also needful to cheek corruption. If it is possible to build a social movement to prevent corruption from one’s own organization, it will be possible to prevent corruption even if it is a little bit. Besides, in order to protect the country and the nation from corruption, it is necessary to ensure the goodwill, honesty, transparency and accountability of the political leaders. If every officer-employee of the country performs his / her duties with honesty and sincerity, then the salary structure of each officer-employee can be changed to suit his / her needs and if it is possible to hold the authorities accountable and if everyone is encouraged to do so, the countrymen can be saved from this horror of corruption to some extent.
Following this, the path to establish good governance can be wide and easy. It will not be possible to prevent corruption from the country by enforcing any law or applying pressure unless the people from their respective places can form a united movement to prevent it. Therefore, from now on, the government, political personalities, people of all walks of life should start the process of saying no to corruption in order to bring national growth in the country. And this will be a successful step for the nation. All that is needed is the goodwill of everyone. In order to keep the country in the middle income country of Qatar, corruption must be stopped as well as good governance must be ensured in all sectors. Let us all say no to corruption to build a beautiful golden Bangladesh.
(Md Atikur Rahman is a Columnist and Former Head of Public Relations at BUFT)
