It happens in many developing and underdeveloped nations. It was reported that in many Central and South African countries police work without salary for years. It does not mean that they don’t wear their uniforms. They do wear their uniforms and maintain all the pomp and grandeur of the department. Is that patriotism which works as the driving force? The patriotism is not the only factor there, there is something else called ‘the system’.
   Here in Bangladesh also ‘the system’ works and is taking care of the government employees very efficiently. Sometimes we express our sympathy to the government employees saying that they are poorly paid but they themselves rarely complain. The reason is that they are insulated and protected by a cosy system they introduced to take care of their interests.
   Anywhere we, in any government owned organisation either to pay bill or claim pension, we get stuck on a series of complicated steps. We get frustrated and feel that there will be no hope to be able to cross the hurdles. Suddenly, someone come with a friendly tone and a friendly offer. The system will take care of you only if you take care of the components of the system. Recently, one official was kind enough to help me with his friendly gesture, and at the end he instructed his subordinate to explain me ‘the system’. I received two cheques delivered to me at my home.
   Definitely, we don’t like this system. We don’t either like the DCC to apply 20 per cent holding tax to keep scope for the ‘system’ to work on it and with house owners for mutual benefits.
   What we believe that the government is not a good manager, at least in commercial and service industries. The government should denationalise all the ‘responsibilities’ it took on its shoulder and allow private sectors to manage things which are supposed to be managed by them. The government should reduce it manpower strength and in certain fields it should start outsourcing.
   Similarly, the DCC should reduce the holding tax to five per cent and outsource to companies to collect the tax. This way the home owners will be encouraged to pay the holding tax in time and millions of taka will be earned as revenue which are otherwise getting lost presently through the ‘system loss’.
   MH Khan
   Via e-mail