Editorial
No space for favouritism,
nepotism in rule of law
THE presidential clemency to 20 AL activists, who were sentenced to death on August 24, 2006 for the murder of Juba Dal leader Sabbir Hossain Gama on February 7, 2004, looks set to reinforce the impression that the Awami League-led government is slowly but surely creating in the public mind — the rule of law does not apply for the incumbents or their families and friends or their cronies. According to a report front-paged in New Age on Tuesday, the clemency documents reached the Dhaka and Rajshahi jails, where the convicts had been staying, but they were set to be released ‘Monday night or tomorrow [Tuesday]’.
Not that the president does not have the legal right to grant clemency to the convicts. The problem is that there is a clear pattern arising in the exercise of the presidential power. It is not the first time that the president has pardoned convicts on the basis of their association with the ruling party or its leaders. In the first year of the government’s tenure, Shadab Akbar, son of the deputy leader of parliament, Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, was granted presidential clemency; he was sentenced to 18 years in prison and Tk 1.6 crores in fine in four cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission and the National Board of Revenue during the military-controlled interim regime. There may have been more such cases that have not made it newspaper headlines.
While the president seems predisposed to clemency when the convicts are associated or affiliated with the ruling camp, the government has apparently made sure that cases against its leaders and activists are not even prosecuted in the court of law through the so-called national committee on review and withdrawal of ‘politically motivated’ cases. Not surprisingly, perhaps, most of the cases reviewed by the committee and recommended for withdrawal involve leaders and activists of the ruling Awami League. Not surprisingly still, leaders and activists of the opposition political camp are not given such preferential treatment but, on the contrary, implicated in one case after another, most of which appear legally tenuous and politically motivated.
Such selective application of law, as it is indicated before, seemed to have emerged as distinct trend in the style of governance of the AL-led government. Coupled with so many other undemocratic actions of the incumbents, e.g. attack on largely peaceful processions and demonstrations of the opposition parties during their political programmes, denial of their rights to hold rallies, bring out processions, and stage similar programmes on the roads on the ground of ‘easing traffic congestion’, closure of media organisations and blockade of social networking website Facebook, such practices do put the lie to the ruling alliance’s self-professed commitment to the rule of law and democracy.
Worse still, despite widespread criticisms, and even condemnations, the government has stayed firm on such undemocratic course of actions, and, as if to add insult to injury, its ministers have continued with their regular sermons on the benefit of democracy and the rule of law. The government and its ministers need to realise that many people already have and most people will soon get sick and tired of their duplicity, the yawning gap between what they preach and what they practise, and mend their ways. Meanwhile, the politically conscious and democratically oriented sections of society need to raise their voice in unison and tell the government: there is no space for favouritism or nepotism in the rule of law or democracy.
Festival allowance: the have-nots
outnumber the haves
Two lead stories displayed side by side in yesterdays New Age would reveal the pathetic side of Eid festivities. One of the two is headlined ‘Eid brings no joy for 40m informal sector workers’ and the other one ‘Many RMG workers yet to get wage, festival allowance’. Eid is not for everybody. Eid is not for workers in the readymade garment factories who slog along for twelve hours everyday for a pittance for wages, Eid is not for workers of non-unionised and informal sectors whose demand for festival allowance is not backed by any effective law and remains a matter of employer’s discretion (read whim). And employers in this country and under the present global economic system are not noted for being overly generous and many would rather withhold what is mandatory payment as long as they can. Not that legal rights of workers in the informal sector are altogether non-existent but the workers are not aware of whatever little rights they have. As our report mentions, the 45 million workers engaged in the informal sector are denied their lawful labour rights and what is more, these hapless workers are not even aware of what they are entitled to. What will remain of Eid as a social festivity if such vast segments of the population are left out? And the deprivation sharpens when it is considered that Eid is an occasion which is believed to have an equalising and harmonising influence on society.
Thus, in this sector also the promised change is elusive. The Awami League in its 2008 election manifesto promised elimination of gender bias in wages, a national minimum wage and formation of a permanent wage board. The informal sector employs far more workers than the formal sector. And half of them are farm workers. The government has implemented the recommendations of the National Pay Commission in respect of the employees of government, semi-government and autonomous organisations which gave the employees an 80 per cent pay hike. They belong to organised sectors and are a strong force whom it is dangerous for the government not to oblige. Employees in the government sector number one million, much less than those engaged in non-government sectors. And the proportion of women workers is high in the informal sectors yet the concept of maternity leave is unknown to them. Even their pay (monthly in RMG factories and weekly in other factories) at times becomes uncertain. All legal benefits are denied and agitation is suppressed on the plea of maintaining business climate and investment climate. If a tyre bursts in the street business climate is undermined!
Every year on the eve of Eid the question of festival allowance of workers in the farm and informal sectors comes up but it is the same story of deprivation every year. Last year the labour and employment minister said that they were bringing the workers in the informal sector, especially agriculture workers, under a legal framework. After a full one year when the question was again asked, the minister’s response was ‘There is no hurry’. If this is the government attitude, it is time for society to raise its voice.
Govt’s price control and
other futile measures
The interesting epilogue of the home minister’s market visits was that soon after her departure most shopkeepers and businessmen asserted almost unanimously that they are subject to regular and substantial extortion and toll taking,
writes Omar Khasru
IF YOU buy into the home minister’s recent utterances, you would think that all is calm and hunky dory on the crime front. During a whirlwind visit to different marketplaces two days in a row, she claimed that there have been no criminal activities or extortions in any markets or shopping malls in Dhaka. This would lead one to infer that the capital city has attained the status of nirvana and people are going about their chores in a state of pleasant, crime-free and blissful Swiss like efficiency, complete safety and freewill.
Moghul emperor Jahangir, during his 17th century visit to Kashmir, was enchanted and awestruck by the majestic mountains and timeless beauty of the valley. He commented: Agar firdaus ho bar rue zaminast, o haminast, o haminast, o haminast (if there is a heaven on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here). Listening to the venerable home minister you would think a crime-free, peaceful, safe and serene Bangladesh has metaphorically attained a similar heavenly ambiance.
The truth, however, as we all know, is quite the contrary, as pointed out in the September 5 editorial of New Age. It described the home minister’s recent claim of no instances of criminal activity or extortion in any markets in the capital city as a penchant for denial. Ministers, party functionaries and government officials are expected to put their best foot forward. That is completely different from a total and unequivocal denial of the blatant fact and manifest truth in an attempt to describe black as white or vice versa.
The home minister also chimed in that complaints regarding extortion were part of a conspiracy to denigrate and vilify the government. The fact is that this government and this ruling party excel in constant harping of the conspiracy and/or sabotage theory, the abundant misuse of which now has reached the ‘cry wolf’ proportion.
The interesting epilogue of the home minister’s market visits was that soon after her departure most shopkeepers and businessmen asserted almost unanimously that they are subject to regular and substantial extortion and toll taking.
One obvious and adverse outcome of the widespread, systemic and incremental toll taking and extortion that exists almost universally in the country, especially extracted from businesses in the capital city, is that the prices of the corresponding commodities rise. The consumers end up paying a premium for the extra payment that the businesses dole out to the extortionists, usually belonging to the ruling party or its affiliated organisations and linked with influential party bigwigs.
Prices also rise due to extra profit making by shady businesspeople who take advantage of people’s miseries. During the month of Ramadan, the government in an attempt at price control to provide needed relief from price-aggression by crooked businesspeople fixed the maximum retail price of several items, including beef, mutton, edible oil, sugar and chhola (chickpea). The convoluted result is that almost none of these items have been sold at the price set by the government despite occasional token monitoring and constant protest by the consumers.
A commerce ministry mobile team in a recent attempt at enforcing the sugar price fixed by the government in Karwan Bazar faced severe resistance from shop owners and sugar retailers. The team was barricaded by disgruntled traders till relieved by a contingent of the Rapid Action Battalion. After the end of the blockade, the team, consisting of a magistrate and two assistant secretaries, left the place without conducting further market monitoring.
The incensed retail sellers blamed their high purchase price from the wholesalers for the high retail price of sugar. The wholesalers in turn blame the mill owners and big-time importers for the excessive price. And everyone, including the media, politicians and commoners, blame the dreadful stranglehold of the powerful syndicates for manipulating the prices. So on and so forth and the circle is repeated ad nauseam.
This circular blame game is unproductive and frustrating and does not provide any help or comfort to the infuriated and victimised customers in any way. They just end up paying through their collective noses for an essential item that should rationally be available at a much lower price.
The evident and natural conclusion from all the hullabaloo and rigmarole is that price control by the government is not only futile and ineffective, it may well be counterproductive. One problem is when the price is set by a government agency or the city corporation, the officials consider it as the ceiling or the maximum retail price of the item; the gluttonous unseemly sellers, on the other hand, consider it as the floor price and they add on a hefty profit margin to make the price overly inflated (please see: Eid and Ramadan expenses and diverse experiences, New Age, September 1).
During a visit to New Market grocery stores last week, I observed a price list of several items hung neatly, if not prominently, in a small one-man store. The price of a name brand 5-litre container of soybean oil seemed reasonable. When I enquired about it, the sly shopkeeper said the price I pay would have to be higher. He explained that he displayed the price list to avoid possible official harassment but he could not sell most items according to his own price list because his purchase prices are higher. So here is another novel way of circumventing government price control.
The prices of beef and now mutton have not increased because of extensive outbreak of anthrax. The government at first was lax and inept in dealing with the anthrax epidemic, taking it lightly and repeatedly declaring that sufficient checks have been initiated and the spread of the disease has been contained. Now with the rapid spread of the disease a ‘red alert’ has been declared to deal with the seriously escalating emergency situation. The result is the consumption of beef and mutton has taken a nosedive but the prices of chicken and fish have skyrocketed.
According to a New Age report, prices of sugar, cooking oil and flour increased because of an increased demand with Eid. Prices of spices increased but beef price declined because of a falling demand caused by anthrax infection in a number of places. Sugar, cooking oil and flour prices increased on the retail market after a price increase on the wholesale market in the past week. That says a lot about the lack of efficiency and utter uselessness of government price control (New Age Business, September 4).
The launch and bus tickets for homebound Eid travellers ran out in no time at all. After waiting in long lines a throng of deprived ticket seekers are at their wit’s end unable to plan their Eid travel. The usual grumble is much of the tickets are being sold in black market at inflated rates. Launch and most of the bus tickets are sold by private businesses and they take advantage of the steep Eid demand to make extra profit. This is despite repeated threats and warnings by multiple ministers that the government would not tolerate any such actions.
The government has little control and shows little inclination to monitor the price gouging by unscrupulous launch and bus owners to lessen the suffering of the travelling public. The administration, however, has direct control over the train tickets as the railway is a government owned and controlled institution. The process of obtaining train tickets for homebound passengers was no less cumbersome. After an all-night vigil and hours of waiting in the line, many were unable to purchase the desired tickets because authorities claimed they are all out of tickets. The angry and aggravated customers blamed total mismanagement, favouritism, underhanded deals and black marketeering by railway staff and law enforcers that led to the dearth of tickets.
Here then are relevant observations to summarise the immense suffering and intense frustration of the common people, just to mention a few:
Most businesses take advantage of the Ramadan needs and Eid demands every step of the way to try and make huge profits from helpless consumers. The government is capable or willing to do precious little to allay the situation except very token monitoring that does not amount to a hill of beans. And lastly, and more importantly, the government should abandon the futile, useless and counterproductive pursuit of price control. This sort of half-baked attempt does not work and it is neither meaningful nor effective. The tangible upshots are loss of credibility and sheer disappointments.
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