IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Promptitude and exactness in decision-making and correspondence are the primary purposes of e-governance. But exactness in decision-making is antithetical to manipulation -- the basic element that fosters corruption. Frequent policy changes geared to serving calculated notorious designs are also a manifest sign of the same vice. How then can e-governance become the management feature of this society, identified as the most corrupt one by a foreign research body of repute in five successive years in a row? Unless this moot point is addressed seriously, all efforts for making e-governance effective will be like multiplying the figure one by itself any number of times. It is basically the honesty of purpose that matters most. After all, man-made computers having installed intelligence of a limited nature are no better than the intentions of their users. Hackers -- who are intelligent but corrupt, have proved the inability of this machine to guard against manipulation. But if the intentions of users are pious, computers are undeniably superb in performance -- those serve their masters faithfully.

In the present context of globalisation and development of information and communication technology, maintaining a website has become essential for every organisation. In our country, many people and organisations have developed their own websites to widen their areas of communication and carry all kinds of activities including personal contacts and businesses through the internet to make it timely and accurate. But unfortunately, the state organs remain behind due to not introducing e-governance properly.

Even a poor and developing country like Bangladesh can start making good use of the computers to achieve efficacy and transparency in its governmental functions. There are many areas in Bangladesh where the use of the computer can revolutionise the government administration.

How computerisation can speed up administration is evident from only the working of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA). Even in the eighties, the BRTA did its work manually.

Each day for Bangladesh should be part of a well-crafted national strategy, but the point is, who is there to make this strategy? More pertinently, will the masses buy into this grandiose plan of action? It is hard to tell, but many efforts dot the Bangladeshi landscape for coming to a common platform on which to sketch our collective future.

I despair of the fact that truth and justice seem to have fallen into a bad state in Bangladesh due to bitter political rivalry and ineffective judicial systems. Absence of good governance and lack of political will have played their nasty roles for sure.