IMPUNITY encourages crime – it could be best exemplified with the import of inedible wheat from France and Romania after the scandalous two billion tonnes substandard wheat imported from Brazil. According to this daily’s report on Wednesday, the Food Ministry imported about 2.25 lakh tonnes of wheat from Romania and France two months ago but the Chittagong Port Authority and Food Directorate hesitated to unload the grains as the Brazilian wheat drew criticism and The Bangladesh Supreme Court had already suspended distribution and storage of such wheat. By importing substandard and inedible wheat from different countries involving huge amounts of public money, the Ministry high-ups have wilfully wasted public money. The Apex Court’s order, citizens flakes, opponent political parties’ criticism ¾ nothing could compel the government to take punitive actions against the Minister and the employees who were/are evidently involved of the crime. Public interest goes unheeded and the government actually does nothing except pronouncing rhetoric assurances.
Reports said that the 2.25 lakh tonnes of wheat are now waiting for clearance in the outer anchorage of Chittagong and Kutubdia. And the importing agency i.e. The Food Directorate, will have to pay additional surcharge for overstaying of the ships in the Port area. Secretary of the Ministry said, the procedure of clearing the wheat is facing some difficulties due to lack of improper or insufficient import documents, Claiming that the wheat imported from Romania okay, the Food Secretary, however, admitted that the wheat imported from France has not met the edible quality test. In simple words, those are not fit for human consumption.
A fall in the euro and lower freight rates helped France to sell feed-wheat (used for livestock consumption) to the Asian buyers. Part of this stock was rain-affected 2014 crop that failed to meet the requirements of the bread-wheat at its country of origin. Unfortunately, Bangladesh imported both the ‘feed-wheat’ and ‘bread-wheat’ with clear ill-motive to make margin.
In this backdrop, Directorate of Food had bought again 50,000 tonnes of French wheat in a tender at $243.69 a tonne, including CIF liner out charges in mid-April. The Food Directorate conducted lab test on the wheat loaded in MV KP Albatross and refused to accept it after it was proved to be of low quality on July 9. Not only that, wheats in other ships were also found inconsumable after tests by the Food Directorate and the Port Authority, and thus this lot of wheat has remained unloaded yet.
No countries allows its government to waste public money by purchasing substandard grains and thus force people to consume the inedible and unhygienic wheat, which cause diseases in endemic scale. Those who are behind the import of such substandard wheat for the national are criminals only. These are cases of open corruption. The government’s reluctance to bring the culprits under the aegis of the law has encouraged these corrupt elements to be bold enough.
The people in Hasina Administration know it well that they have no accountability to the people which they are constitutionally supposed to be as persons holding public offices of the Republic.
