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Editorial

Woes of Chittagong Port

Bring about a lasting and equitable solution
15 October 2010, 18:00 PM
EDITORIAL
It is not very often that we address the same issue in quick succession in our editorial columns. On Chittagong port we are doing so, it being a major issue that strikes at the very heart of our economy, affecting the country's trade and commerce directly. The day before in this column we had urged upon the government to act with speed in order to restore the normal functions of the port. It has since been done. Reportedly, the port has resumed its normal function to its full potentials, with the workers, including those that had gone on strike, back to work, and all this after the deployment of the army. And that begs the question. Why did it have to come to such a pass, having endured great loss for the last several days of inactivity in Chittagong port, that the army had to be called in to restore the status quo ante? And we have several questions that need answers to. Looking at the goings on in the port over the last two years Chittagong Port it appears to us a classic example of good and efficient machinery turned completely unproductive through political ineptitude and lack of insight. It was an efficient system that this government inherited that has made been fully dysfunctional. Why so? It merits mention that the erstwhile caretaker government had managed to turn the once incompetent systems into an efficient one. The long turn around time was brought down to about three and it remained so till the elected government took over charge. Surely, there must have been something right that the CTG had done to improve the state of the operation of the country's major port. Certainly, the functioning was streamlined and the loose ends taken care of. It seems to us that the good work of the past has been undone by the present all on partisan political grounds. Populist game was played against economic sense and the interest of the country. What the government has done by calling in the army is apply an ad hoc measure which, we are afraid, will not be able to bring a lasting solution to the problem. And the army's presence at the port cannot be a permanent feature, not even a midterm one. What can be a durable solution though is an equitable arrangement addressing the core contradictions in the management practices. We recommend that the CPA, the berth operators and the workers' representatives, sit across the table without further delay and work out a solution to the prevailing problem that must be satisfactory to all the parties s concerned, including addressing the genuine grievances of the workers. We suggest too that the definition of the term 'berth operators' as it exists today in the gazette be broadened to be more inclusive so that there is ample opportunity for others to participate. There is also need to address the problem of management of the port which in its present form appears ad hoc at best.

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