GOOD governance is desired and stressed by all concerned. The common people of the country, who are preponderant in the population, should have a serious stake in good governance because improvement of their lot in all respects is umbilically linked to this end. Donors want good governance for the obvious reasons of the economy''s viability and its progressive improvement. But this aspiration for good governance in the context of Bangladesh has remained more in the realm of clichés than actual moves towards it. This is singularly because the two most important factors for achieving good governance - transparency and accountability of the government - were never tried wholeheartedly by those whose task it is to endeavour towards that end.
The country has been ruled without an interruption by duly elected governments - that claimed to be democratic - for the last thirteen years. But poor governance continues to be the ruling quality of the government in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has been labelled three times in succession during the last three years as the most corrupt country by the Berlin-based Transparency International (TI). There is no need to explain why this odious label was acquired repeatedly; it is due to the all-pervasive corruption of the governmental functionaries who spawn the greatest corruption in the country.
In a parliamentary democracy, the tasks of ensuring transparency and accountability of the government are mainly those of parliament, its select committees covering the ministries and public accounts and supremely by the members of parliament themselves. The Question-Time in parliament, debates, etc., also add to this process. The media also has an important role to play in putting pressure on government to account for its actions. But in the Bangladesh situation, apart from the media, other institutions, including the pivotal parliament, are seen hardly playing a role in this regard. The parliamentary committees are the real watchdogs over government''s activities. These bodies can mount pressure on the government of the day by compelling the various ministries to disclose their activities for scrutiny and detection of wrong-doings and lapses or otherwise. But these committees have hardly performed during the last thirteen years. The committees of the present parliament remain de facto unrepresented by the main opposition though a half of its term is over. Not only in the committees, the members of parliament belonging to the main opposition party have been absenting themselves as a whole from the parliament continuously since its formation except for a few days of their inconsequential attendance.
The parliament, the working of its committees with flair and having the full participation of the opposition in them, participation in debates and question time by the opposition in parliament. etc., are at the heart of trying to make the government acceptable and transparent. The same also help to keep politics contained safely to the floors of parliament and remove the ground for economy-damaging hartals and other acts.
However, the tragedy of Bangladesh is its limping parliament although an effective parliament requires both - the ruling party as well as the opposition - to play their respective roles. It is obvious that the parliament''s ineffectiveness is the main reason for the missing accountability and transparency of the government.

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THE World Economic Forum(WEF) is an independent organisation committed to improving the state of the world. The forum provides a collaborative framework for world''s leaders to address global issues. It is a non-profit foundation that serves as a platform for discussion and action on the key issues on the global agenda. Based in Geneva, WEF is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. The strategic partner companies contribute their expertise and resources in order to advance worldwide economic and social progress. This year''s theme in Davos was ''partnering for security and prosperity''. The forum brought together leaders from governments, businesses and civil societies for participating in meetings held on 21-25, January, 2004.
The WEF did not bring out any consolidated summary of events in Davos. References will ,therefore, be made to statements of dignitaries to find out what had happened during the meetings. The US Vice President, Dick Cheny, said democracy is key to fighting terrorism. He has urged countries around the globe to unite in promoting democracy for fighting global terrorism and confront the ideologies of violence at the source by promoting democracy. According to him, using force was an option to tackle terrorism and stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction if diplomacy failed. He mentioned that the capture of Saddam Hussein, the adoption of a new democratic constitution in Afghanistan, Libya''s decision to abandon its weapons of mass destruction, the recent warming between India and Pakistan and the return to robust economic growth in the United States have given the reasons for optimism.
The aftermath of the war in Iraq and dealing with the threat of terrorism was a running theme this year at Davos at the annual gathering of global political and business leaders. The UN Secretary General warned the United Stares and other rich countries that a too-narrow focus on fighting terrorism could worsen global tensions and threaten human rights. According to him, the war on terror has redirected world attention from other pressing concerns such as poverty, hunger and disease and it was time to rebalance the international agenda. The most privileged members of the United Nations were currently and understandably preoccupied with terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. But the UN must also protect millions of our fellow men and women from the more familiar threats of poverty, hunger and deadly diseases. The US attorney general said that it was not easy to establish freedom in the midst of terror and freedom has never been free.
On the sidelines, ministers sought to revive global trade talks but failed to find a way. The UN Secretary General has appealed for progress on a trade deal that will help the poor. The Swiss President, who chaired the meeting on trade, said that it was impossible to conclude a new trade pact by the end of the year as planned. The Director General of WTO advocated suspending work on regional and bilateral trade agreements for a year to push the Doha round of global trade talks. The fact that trade ministers failed to achieve success at Cancun did not constitute failure.
The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran told delegates that dialogue was key to ending animosity between nations and peoples. And democracy was the best framework to achieve this. Dialogue rather than confrontation was central to the promotion and consolidation of human rights. Pakistan''s President has appealed for enlightened moderation to bridge the divide between the Western and Islamic worlds. Unresolved political disputes lead to extremism and militancy. This combined with poverty and illiteracy act as cannon-fodder for extreme religious indoctrination.
A report released by the WEF on global governance painted a disappointing picture of attempts to meet the major goals that have been established by the international community to improve the state of the world. A team of 40 experts from around the world overseen by a distinguished steering committee concluded that governments, international organisations, businesses and civil societies are engaged in only about one-third of the effort and partnership necessary to realise the United Nations Millennium Declaration goals. This report represents a year-long independent analysis by several groups of world''s leading experts in the areas of peace and security, poverty, hunger, education, health, environment and human rights. The report also highlights the positive results of numerous innovative programmes in each sector suggesting that the goals are achievable with the requisite increase in commitment by all. This global governance initiative is unique in evaluating the contributions of the private sector and the civil society as well as those of actors in the governments towards achieving the goals.
If there was one reality that emerged out of this year''s WEF, it was that the global economy has fundamentally changed. China, India, Brazil and Russia are emerging as economic powers that will force difficult adjustments in Canada, the United States, Europe and Japan. These emerging market economies are now challenging the rich countries in a growing range of economic activities, including high-value, knowledge-based activities such as engineering, computer science, pharmaceuticals and software, that were once seen as the monopoly of the better educated West. These countries have undergone huge internal adjustments in opening their economies and moving to greater competition and market-based systems. But the danger is that the rich countries of the West, rather than undergoing their own adjustments to the new global economy, will resort to protectionist trade wars. The US has been imposing anti-dumping duties on Chinese products. The US Senate has passed a law banning the outsourcing of federal work to developing countries, such as software development work to India.
Protesters marched in large numbers to protest the meeting, which they say is elitist and does nothing for the ordinary people. The demonstrators carried red flags and banners condemning the forum for plotting a third world exploitation strategy. But they were not violent like last year. The forum''s convention centre was well-guarded to protect participants. Police did not allow the protesters to reach central Davos. A small group burned effigies of President Bush, Tony Blair, Gerhard Schroeder and Silvio Berlusconi. Protests against the forum have been muted this year.
This year''s World Social Forum(WSF) in Mumbai attracted 100,000 anti-globalisation activists from around the world. It is the fourth year that an event was held in parallel with the World Economic Forum. Every one was talking about imperialist globalisation and its effects on people. Participants joined from all over India - homeless people, street children, sex workers, landless labourers, untouchables and others affected by violence and conflict. The forum conveyed massages in more powerful and effective ways through cultural events. These included picture exhibitions, stage and street drama, poetry recitals, songs, dance and documentary films.
Whereas the WEF was set up by the world''s top corporations and its seminars are structured and hierarchical, attended by CEOs of companies and heads of states. WSF is a free-wheeling forum meant to represent the world''s poor and the excluded. They are held in third world countries - the last three in Brazil and the latest in Mumbai, India. WSF was also attended by eminent people and Nobel laureates. Globalisation is a genie that is already out of the bottle. Poor countries will be open to the flow of ideas and goods, no matter what they do and rich countries will be open to the flow of immigrants diluting their racial stocks, no matter what policies they adopt. The WSF was created to provide an open platform to discuss strategies of resistance to the model of globalisation formulated at WEF. The WSF slogan is ''another world is possible''.
The WSF is a response of the growing international movement that is challenging capitalist-led globalisation and neo-liberal economic policies pushed by most countries. It is an open space for discussing alternatives to the neo-liberal process. The forum did not produce any declaration or action plan although it discussed issues from AIDs to WTO. They grappled with alternatives to globalisation. Thousands of pieces of evidence were presented in each and every session. The forum was not picking up those demands in a systematic way because it was not possible to do that under the circumstances in which it was organised.
Organisers called the WSF a success which has provided a way for people working on connected issues to get together to exchange experiences and ideas. Alliances have been forged and common ground reached. It mobilised opinion and widened global network of civil society groups The delegates shared a common goal of fighting against what they see as global injustice.
Former President Clinton said that he respected the beliefs of people who were against economic globalisation. He added that the world was divided politically, socially and economically.
The resounding message from the representatives of the dispossessed people at WSF in Mumbai is that a new world is both a hope and a dream and one that is possible. While many questions were asked, many answers were found.
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The writer is a former economic minister of Bangladesh mission to UN in Geneva

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EUROZONE business morale improved in January but grim real economy data from France and Germany showed the long-awaited upturn in growth was still elusive because job worries left households reluctant to spend.
Recently figures showed the overall euro-zone economic sentiment gauge rose to 95.8 from 95.6 in December based on a pick-up in the business sentiment component to minus seven from minus eight. Consumer sentiment stayed at minus 16.
But French unemployment data showed a rise to a near 3-1/2 year high of 9.7 per cent in December and data from Germany showed retail sales slid 2.3 per cent in December showing what was happening in the economy was not living up to the generally optimistic survey evidence from companies.
"Business confidence is in the vanguard of economic recovery right now, but consumer sentiment will be the mainstay of any sustainable recovery going forward," said David Brown, chief economist at Bear Stearns in London.
"Consumer confidence is the weakest link in the euro zone right now and we will need to see better hopes for jobs if this is going to improve."
In France another 11,000 people joined the dole queues in December of 2003 and analysts cited unemployment fears in Germany as the cause of another weak performance by retail sales there.
"I think that the weak situation on the labour market has certainly played its part in undermining consumer confidence, and uncertainty about what would happen with the reforms in December will probably not have helped," Ralph Solveen, an analyst at Commerzbank, said.
In late December, German parties agreed on labour and tax reforms but only after negotiations which dragged on for days.
Unadjusted German unemployment, the figure given prominence in the media, rose by 132,000 in December to 4.317 million.
The jobless increase of 11,000 in France looked small by comparison but the verdict was much the same as in Germany - even if jobs are haemorrhaging at a slower rate than earlier last year, people do not see the difference and they are not rushing out to spend money with renewed confidence.
"The job figures are improving although consumer morale figures are not yet following. It''s as if people do not yet believe it," said Stephane Deo, a Paris-based economist at UBS
The breakdown of European Commission figures on euro zone confidence reinforced doubts over the chances consumer spending will rescue the economy.
Households'' inclination to make major purchases over the next 12 months hit a record low of minus 24 from minus 18 in January.
But there was better news when people were asked whether they thought it wise to make such purchases now with a reading of minus 18 in January compared with minus 25 in December and well above a record low on current purchases of minus 28 in March 2003.
The survey also showed households'' assessment of the next 12 months'' general economic situation was unchanged as was their mood on the outlook for unemployment over the same period.
Later, EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pedro Solbes warned that a continued rise in the euro could hit the morale of businesses in the currency zone.
"The strong appreciation of the euro, if it continues, could undermine business confidence and reduce competitiveness," he said at an economic conference in Madrid.
On the eve of the latest data, the French government said things were starting to look better.
"All kinds of indicators right now point to growth reaching a rate of 1.5 to 2.0 per cent. There will be a significant drop in unemployment due to rising growth in 2004," Labour Minister Francois Fillon told the Senate. But there may be some way to go.
Serge Weinberg, chief executive of Europe''s biggest non-food retailer, PPR, said that sales in the latter part of December and traditional January discount sales in France had been encouraging, but he remained cautious.
"The hallmark of a soft economic recovery as it is currently described is that it is extremely volatile," he told French LCI television.
"What we''re experiencing is seesaw consumer spending," said Weinberg, whose empire includes designer fashion brands such as Gucci and the Fnac book, CD and consumer electronics chain.
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Wire Service

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US economic growth slowed to a 4.0 per cent annual rate in the closing three months of 2003, less than half the third-quarter pace as consumers curbed their spending, the Commerce Department reported last December.
Still, other reports showed consumer hopes remained buoyant because of low interest rates and a surging stock market as Bush administration officials moved swiftly to claim the economy was healthy ahead of November presidential elections.
The fourth-quarter expansion in gross domestic product caught markets by surprise, because it failed to meet forecasts and was far below a sizzling 8.2 per cent increase posted in the third quarter when tax- induced spending was strong.
The weaker-than-expected GDP figures spurred a sharp rise in US treasury prices while the dollar initially weakened after the report was issued, as investors weighed whether US economic activity might not be as vigorous as thought.
Analysts noted the fourth-quarter performance was above the economy''s long-term sustainable rate of 3.0 per cent but was likely to raise questions whether consumers, whose spending has led the recovery from the 2001 recession, might be flagging.
US Treasury Secretary John Snow said relatively brisk GDP performance over the final six months of 2003 proved a recovery has set in though job creation was lagging. "We are seeing good economic news on many fronts and we are encouraged, but we are not satisfied."
Some 2.3 million non-farm jobs have been lost since the Bush administration took office, and Capitol Hill Democrats highlighted the loss after the GDP report was issued.
"President Bush has been quick to take credit for the economic growth," said Republican Pete Stark from California and the senior Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee. "But he has yet to take responsibility for the nation''s 8.4 million unemployed."
Analysts noted that consumer spending, though less robust in the fourth quarter than in the third, still was growing.
"The big issue for 2004 is whether well-above average growth is sustainable," said economist Ken Mayland of ClearView Economics LLC in Pepper Pike, Ohio.
"The fourth-quarter figure provides an object lesson," Mayland added, "The baton has been passed on to other sectors like manufacturing, inventory rebuilding and exporting with moderate but solid consumer spending."
Another recent report showing consumer confidence remained upbeat in January helped steady the dollar, and added to an impression that the expansion remained well-grounded.
The University of Michigan''s consumer confidence index rose to a final reading of 103.8 in January from December''s 92.6, according to market sources who saw the data, which was issued only to paying subscribers.
Separately, the national Association of Purchasing Management said its barometer of business activity in the Midwest ticked up in January for a ninth straight month - another indicator that expansion rolled solidly into 2004.
Its business barometer climbed to 65.9 from 61.2 in December, with any reading over 50 indicating expansion in manufacturing.
The Commerce Department said consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of gross domestic product, rose at a 2.6 per cent pace in the fourth quarter, a sharp slowdown from the heady, tax-cut induced 6.9 per cent gain of the prior three months.
Growth in business spending and residential investment also slowed, it said.
Exports of goods and services jumped 19.1 per cent in the fourth quarter, the biggest quarterly increase since the fourth quarter of 1996, as the dollar''s two-year slide made US exports cheaper, and global demand picked up.
Gross domestic product, after adjustment for inflation, expanded 3.1 per cent last year, up from 2.2 per cent in 2002, for the best performance since 3.7 per cent in 2000.

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NOW it is a common but dangerous situation prevailing in the country. Booth the government and all peace-loving citizens are worried. But there is no sign of any plan to arrest/eradicate the menace, everybody only wishes and rightly blame the government. It is the police administration, inter alia, home ministry, is pointedly responsible and has to be made accountable. It is presumed that under the present police administrative system, people cannot expect/depend on them. There has to be some quick changes to relieve the people of their anxiety.
So, it is suggested that the police administration has to undergo changes, but not the uniform or demotion/promotion and award of medals. The police administration has to be decentralised/divided in different segments to assess the success/failure and fix responsibility of the police force.
It is in this respect suggested that the present police administration may be divided into some independent areas, like (i) all divisional cities under one police administration with distinct uniform and responsibility, (ii) all districts and municipalities under another independent and distinct segment. (iii) all union parisads i.e., areas are to remain under a separate unit. (iv) the C.I.D/D.I.B is to act under another independent body.
All these sections/divisions have to be made accomodable to a board, to be headed by a retired. Judge of a High Court with a team of 5 or 7 members, drawn from the Civil Society, to be nominated by the main political parties representing political parties in the parliament. This Board will submit the law and order situation of the country to parliament, through the home ministry.
The police personnel from one area to another area must not be interchanged or transferred; distinct and separate service rules with separate pay scales should be for each section which should be accountable separately only to the board. The police administration system introduced by the British must undergo changes to respond to needs of the civil society in a free country.
It is believed that if the above suggestions, with some modifications are accepted and implemented, there shall be definite improvements in the law and order situation in the country.
MS Huq Khan
69-B, Chowdhury Para
Khilgaon, Dhaka.

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THIS refers to O H Kabir''s letter on the ''guest birds'' which visit our country by millions in the winter from western countries. Kabir in his letter requested all concerned including our law-enforcing authorities to take punitive measure against those who catch these birds and sell them to a section of our people of the affluent society for their consumption.
In his letter of January 19, 2004, O H Kabir has said: "It is, however, very unfortunate that a section of our cruel, dishonest and greedy persons indulge in shooting hundreds of birds, catching them by traps and selling them openly in markets, roads and highways to the wealthy people. As a result, the number of guest birds is decreasing gradually every year".
For the information of Kabir and all those who share his views, allow me to say a few words on the subject.
First, during the past three decades we have filled up most of our rivers, ponds, lakes, canals and jheels with earth in order to build multi-storeyed buildings, shopping centres and roads. Places like Karwan Bazar, Dhanmondi, Kalabagan, Shyamoli, Kalyanpur, Agargaon, Badda, Gulshan, Banani, Uttara, Tejgaon, Demra, Savar and many more areas once could boast of the arrival of ''guest birds'' from western countries during each winter.
In some of these places where ponds or lakes do exist, water is so polluted there that these birds instinctively do not bother to land there. This is happening in the Dhaka city as well as in Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Narayanganj, Comilla, Barisal, Sylhet, Bogra and in some of our neighbouring countries for the same reason.
Finally, I would like to ask our people to throw more light on the subject if needed. At the same time, I pray that we should stop filling up our rivers, ponds, lakes, etc. with earth and also take care not to pollute their water. And let us not forget that these birds are eaten even in countries from where they come.
Mujibul Haque
Agargaon,
Dhaka

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