[Awami League] Govt owes an explanation for UNGA extravagance
IF ANYTHING, the prime ministers trip to New York this time around, to attend the United Nations General Assembly, is likely to be remembered for her jumbo entourage and, of course, at least two embarrassing episodes given rise to by some members of the entourage.
The ruling Awami League and the government that it leads could definitely argue otherwise and might try to get political mileage out of her address to the General Assembly and her meeting with the Indian prime minister on the sidelines of the UNGA session, where, according to a report published in New Age on Sunday, the latter assured that the land boundary agreement between the two countries would be placed in the next session of Lok Sabha and hoped that it would be ratified this time.
However, the prime ministers speech was primarily made up of platitudes and hardly contained anything worth noting, let alone remembering, while there is hardly any reason to believe that the Indian prime ministers assurance and promise over the land boundary agreement will prove to be anything other than a routine diplomatic gesture.
The prime ministers entourage this time around, 140-strong, is the largest since her government assumed office in January 2009, according to reports published in local media, and may well have been the largest at this years UN General Assembly, which is an annual event. Except for the business representatives, totalling 46, who are reportedly bearing their own expenses, the rest are provided with airfare, lodging and daily allowances from the public exchequer, which, even by a conservative estimation, could be up to Tk 10 lakh per person or some Tk 10 crore in total. Moreover, from what could be gathered from media reports, these 90-odd people may have had very little relevance to the official programmes that the prime minister has so far attended. For example, during her speech to the General Assembly, only a handful of Bangladeshi officials, including members of the Bangladeshi mission at the UN, were present. In other words, it seems to have been essentially a pleasure trip for most of the delegates thus far.
As if such unwarranted extravagance was not embarrassing enough, two Bangladeshi officials left a packet containing copies of the prime ministers UNGA speech unattended, outside Bangladeshs permanent mission in New York, touching off a significant security scare. According to a report published in New Age on Sunday, the anti-terrorism squad of the New York Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Special Forces of the US army, and the city fire department sent in their personnel, with dog squads and ambulances hot on the heels, as the news of the unattended packet spread. Yet, Bangladeshs permanent representative to the UN nonchalantly termed the episode a minor mistake made into a big issue!
The episode involving the secret recording of the prime ministers conversation with the chief reporter of a private television channel, who is also on the official entourage, may not have been that big an issue but eventually involved the prime ministers security contingent and was embarrassing nonetheless.
Overall, for all intents and purposes, the prime ministers trip to New York, essentially a routine annual event, has been turned into an exercise in extravagance, causing major embarrassment for the country. The incumbents certainly owe an explanation to the people for such profligacy.
Govt owes an explanation for UNGA extravagance
IF ANYTHING, the prime ministers trip to New York this time around, to attend the United Nations General Assembly, is likely to be remembered for her jumbo entourage and, of course, at least two embarrassing episodes given rise to by some members of the entourage.
The ruling Awami League and the government that it leads could definitely argue otherwise and might try to get political mileage out of her address to the General Assembly and her meeting with the Indian prime minister on the sidelines of the UNGA session, where, according to a report published in New Age on Sunday, the latter assured that the land boundary agreement between the two countries would be placed in the next session of Lok Sabha and hoped that it would be ratified this time.
However, the prime ministers speech was primarily made up of platitudes and hardly contained anything worth noting, let alone remembering, while there is hardly any reason to believe that the Indian prime ministers assurance and promise over the land boundary agreement will prove to be anything other than a routine diplomatic gesture.
The prime ministers entourage this time around, 140-strong, is the largest since her government assumed office in January 2009, according to reports published in local media, and may well have been the largest at this years UN General Assembly, which is an annual event. Except for the business representatives, totalling 46, who are reportedly bearing their own expenses, the rest are provided with airfare, lodging and daily allowances from the public exchequer, which, even by a conservative estimation, could be up to Tk 10 lakh per person or some Tk 10 crore in total. Moreover, from what could be gathered from media reports, these 90-odd people may have had very little relevance to the official programmes that the prime minister has so far attended. For example, during her speech to the General Assembly, only a handful of Bangladeshi officials, including members of the Bangladeshi mission at the UN, were present. In other words, it seems to have been essentially a pleasure trip for most of the delegates thus far.
As if such unwarranted extravagance was not embarrassing enough, two Bangladeshi officials left a packet containing copies of the prime ministers UNGA speech unattended, outside Bangladeshs permanent mission in New York, touching off a significant security scare. According to a report published in New Age on Sunday, the anti-terrorism squad of the New York Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Special Forces of the US army, and the city fire department sent in their personnel, with dog squads and ambulances hot on the heels, as the news of the unattended packet spread. Yet, Bangladeshs permanent representative to the UN nonchalantly termed the episode a minor mistake made into a big issue!
The episode involving the secret recording of the prime ministers conversation with the chief reporter of a private television channel, who is also on the official entourage, may not have been that big an issue but eventually involved the prime ministers security contingent and was embarrassing nonetheless.
Overall, for all intents and purposes, the prime ministers trip to New York, essentially a routine annual event, has been turned into an exercise in extravagance, causing major embarrassment for the country. The incumbents certainly owe an explanation to the people for such profligacy.
Govt owes an explanation for UNGA extravagance
