Finance minister's remarks

Mr. Saifur Rahman's veiled references to the recently disclosed abuses in Iraq by US military personnel does not in any way mitigate the fact that Bangladesh does not want to deal with the country's graft problems and the apparent lack of accountability of the top officials in the administration, both past and present. On the other hand, in regard to abuses in Iraq, the accountability process has already started with the highest ranking officials (Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, Joint Chief of Staff General Myers and others) testifying before Congress recently. Court-martials have already been set up for the perpetuators of the abuses. The United States is not perfect, but at least Congress and the Executive branch are trying to deal with the problem.

Bangladesh has never and will not address the issue of corruption because corruption is so pervasive that when the shit hits the fan, that is, the accountability process begins, the heads of many powerful officials (political and bureaucratic) will roll.

What bothers me is that whenever the graft issue comes up, Mr. Saifur Rahman, in addition to using the two convenient tools of defence -- the media and comparison with other countries (as referred to by the Editor) -- has consistently blamed the United States over the years in spite of the fact that it (USA) has been very generous to Bangladesh since its independence. The finance minister should be cognisant of the fact that the United States government is accountable to tax-payers. It is our hard-earned money that goes into the coffers of the Bangladesh Treasury, which is systematically looted by officials, from the top to the bottom.

The notion that the world owes aid to Bangladesh is embedded in the minds of the officials running the Bangladesh government, past and present . Aid is a not a God-given right.

Mr. Saifur Rahman also holds the portfolio of Planning. He needs to start planning for an aid-free future for Bangladesh. Otherwise, he will be dealing with pesky and intrusive donor nations for a long, long time.

I feel sorry for the majority of the people of Bangladesh who are struggling just to survive in spite of regular floods, tornadoes, cyclones, droughts, interminable strikes, extortion, plunging law and order situation and corrupt officials. The truth of the matter is that aid hardly reaches these struggling poor people. And, that bothers the donor countries.