Bureaucrats stand in the way

The ongoing reform project of the Bangladesh Railway has hit snags because of resistance by officials of the communications ministry who are unwilling to approve the proposed new organogram of the loss-making state-run entity.
Sources alleged that the communications ministry has kept the approval of the proposed BR organogram and the line of business pending for the last six months, which has slowed down the overall progress of the $740 million reform project taken up in 2007.
The communications ministry officials are objecting to the proposed organogram on the grounds that a separate division would be created if it was approved.
They are against creation of a separate division as the proposed onganogram will empower the BR chief to be responsible to the communications minister directly, while according to the existing regulations he has to reach the minister via the communications secretary.
Officials of Pricewaterhouse Coppers, India, consultant of the BR reform project, told a meeting of the communications ministry last month that further progress of the reform depended on approval of the line of business and the organogram, two of the most vital components of the reform project.
The officials working for the reform project have been demobilised as there was no further work until approval of these two vital components. The proposals have remained pending since last March, according to the minutes of the meeting.
When contacted, communications minister Abul Hossain told New Age that he had already directed the ministry’s officials to take necessary steps to implement the suggestions for reform of the BR.
The proposed organogram and line of business were supposed to be approved by the cabinet by 31 August, 2009.
The communications minister is, however, optimistic that the obstacle will be crossed without further delay. ‘I hope that the issues will be resolved soon,’ he added.
Abul Hossain said his government was committed to the global lenders to expedite the ongoing reform project in order to revive the ailing railway sector.
Turning the BR into a service-oriented entity through reforms was attempted 11 times in the past. Those attempts, however, bore no fruit because of obstacles put up by certain vested interest quarters.
The global lender-funded ongoing reform project, titled the Bangladesh Railway Reform Project, was taken up to increase the efficiency of the constantly stumbling railway sector. Its contribution to the mass transportation system is essential to achieve the country’s goal of halving the rate of the poverty by 2015.
The Asian Development Bank has pledged to provide the bulk of the fund with a loan amounting to $420 million. The World Bank with a loan of $200 million and the Japan International Cooperation Agency with $120 million will provide the rest of the fund needed for the five-year project.
The Manila-based ADB has already disbursed $130 million. The second tranche of the loan is already due, but the ADB is reluctant to disburse it because of the slow progress of the reform project, said sources.
The fund will be utilised to replace the outdated signalling system, lay new rail tracks, and procure new locomotives and coaches. The popularity and importance of the BR are declining fast because of lack of investment and negligence of the successive governments.
The BR currently carries 13 per cent of the country’s freight and 7 per cent of the passengers, whereas its share of passengers was 70 per cent and of freight 43 per cent in the seventies, according to an ADB report released in 2005.
The BR could not make any operational profit in last one decade.
Moreover, there were 4,478 accidents in seven years between 2000 and 2007 or 640 a year or nearly two a day. One hundred and seventy-two people were killed in these accidents, which comes to 24 a year or two a month. One thousand two hundred and eight people were also injured, which comes to about 14 a month.
The BR officials claimed that the ongoing reform project has been designed in such a way that its officials are liable for operational losses and flaws in service.
Restructuring of the sick BR by changing the line of business, evaluating its assets, improving financial governance and the quality of human resources to turn it into a profitable entity are the main aims of the reform project.

Courtesy of NewAgebd