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Cross Culture
William Gomes
Bangladesh NGOs under bureaucratic dictatorship
Dhaka , Bangladesh, April 10 — The Bangladesh government is going to form a single bureaucratic commission to control all the nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the country. The commission will include representatives various government agencies, including the Ministry of Social Welfare, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Bangladesh Bank, the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms, and the NGO Affairs Bureau.
The minister of social welfare, Enamul Haque Mostafa Shahid, said the commission will be named the National Social Commission to Control NGOs. NGO registration will require pre-registration police verification. The commission will be given the power to cancel registrations of any of the NGOs.
The government made this decision quickly after recent trouble with NGOs connected with Islamic extremists, but because of this new initiative, the whole NGO community will face challenges. With this commission, the NGO registration process will become more bureaucratically controlled, and the nation’s development process will become more politicized. The government is taking this immature step to restrain NGOs from engaging in sustained political action.
A large number of major NGOs are politically active. Recently, we have seen a new political party, the United Citizens’ Movement, emerge from efforts of the prominent national NGO, Proshika. A certain number of Bangladeshi NGOs are also active in global politics. NGOs are not directly influencing politics, but rather they are influencing policymaking. This recent immature move by the government is trying to enforce a new kind of politicized charitable activity, based on an arbitrary, illogical, and controversial definition of politics.
Both domestic and global politics, policymaking will obviously more exclusive, rather than democratic, without the active participation of NGOs. NGOs have a great impact on society, by equipping the democratic system in Bangladesh.
The NGO Affairs Bureau of Bangladesh has a legacy of corruption and unaccountable control by political and intelligence leaders. From the registration process to funding, NGOs are faced with corruption from all directions. The bureaucratic leadership is the number one reason for this. The National Social Commission to Control NGOs will make amplify this situation.
In Bangladesh, there are 78,000 NGOs registered with different government agencies. Finance Minister A.M.A. Muhith said that the existing money laundering laws are enough to prevent militant financing. So it’s an open question to the nation: why is the government trying to control the NGOs?
This immature initiative of the government to control NGOs will greatly challenge the development of the country, and the GDP will notably decline as a result, as foreign donations and foreign donors move to a new destination. The government should help NGO personnel work more effectively and ensure a free and smooth working process by ensuring accountability. The government should form a special commission to focus specifically on Islamic terrorism and related issues, not on NGOs.
Keywords
Bangladesh NGOs national commission politics policymaking
The minister of social welfare, Enamul Haque Mostafa Shahid, said the commission will be named the National Social Commission to Control NGOs. NGO registration will require pre-registration police verification. The commission will be given the power to cancel registrations of any of the NGOs.
The government made this decision quickly after recent trouble with NGOs connected with Islamic extremists, but because of this new initiative, the whole NGO community will face challenges. With this commission, the NGO registration process will become more bureaucratically controlled, and the nation’s development process will become more politicized. The government is taking this immature step to restrain NGOs from engaging in sustained political action.
A large number of major NGOs are politically active. Recently, we have seen a new political party, the United Citizens’ Movement, emerge from efforts of the prominent national NGO, Proshika. A certain number of Bangladeshi NGOs are also active in global politics. NGOs are not directly influencing politics, but rather they are influencing policymaking. This recent immature move by the government is trying to enforce a new kind of politicized charitable activity, based on an arbitrary, illogical, and controversial definition of politics.
Both domestic and global politics, policymaking will obviously more exclusive, rather than democratic, without the active participation of NGOs. NGOs have a great impact on society, by equipping the democratic system in Bangladesh.
The NGO Affairs Bureau of Bangladesh has a legacy of corruption and unaccountable control by political and intelligence leaders. From the registration process to funding, NGOs are faced with corruption from all directions. The bureaucratic leadership is the number one reason for this. The National Social Commission to Control NGOs will make amplify this situation.
In Bangladesh, there are 78,000 NGOs registered with different government agencies. Finance Minister A.M.A. Muhith said that the existing money laundering laws are enough to prevent militant financing. So it’s an open question to the nation: why is the government trying to control the NGOs?
This immature initiative of the government to control NGOs will greatly challenge the development of the country, and the GDP will notably decline as a result, as foreign donations and foreign donors move to a new destination. The government should help NGO personnel work more effectively and ensure a free and smooth working process by ensuring accountability. The government should form a special commission to focus specifically on Islamic terrorism and related issues, not on NGOs.
KeywordsBangladesh NGOs national commission politics policymaking
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