Spirit of entrepreneurship
After the conquering of Mt Everest by a Bangladeshi, comes another good news from our entrepreneurs -- the first jamdanee saree made from super-fine jute threads (exhibited recently in Dhaka).
But our cottage industry and the SMEs suffer from numerous shortcomings; human, technical and administrative. The number of one-stop information and service centres should be increased immediately; right up to the upazilla level.
Our government offices are modelled on the colonial system of pen pushing; with minimal contacts with the citizens and the visitors to the relevant offices. In some countries (in Asia), the public counters are manned by officers, not clerks.
The farmers and small businessmen in the rural areas and small towns need information quickly on certain technical points, and methods of processing. We have a large number of NGOs who are engaged in useful field activities; but there are loopholes in coordination with the government and other agencies. This area has to be fine-tuned. For this, the political culture has to change (servants of the people, not masters).
Nowadays the TV channels are devoting some time to broadcasts suitable for the rural areas; and are sending TV teams to the villages. The river pollution and unauthorised structures on the river banks are signs of entrepreneurship -- but misguided. Our basic assets are the huge human resources, plenty of water, and fertile lands (with low literacy levels as a handicap).
The governance has to be field oriented, and not confined to unfriendly government offices, with bureaucratic aroma. The big companies in the private sector have hoards of salespersons; but the public sector, it appears, is not interested in salesmanship! The political microphones and loudspeakers cannot fill in this gap.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments