Corruption, some unanswered questions and unexpected scenario of bureaucracy.

Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense is a department accountable for recovery missions in Bangladesh. It works for fire security, safety during air raids and any kind of disaster in Bangladesh. We all know the fire service and civil defense is an important part of our administration and their importance for our country and general people. So, we can say that they should be always vigil to help us and we can get the available privilege. But in a blog post which is published by Arju Afrin Kathy one of my classmate we can see that they are so much segregate to their responsibilities.

Now I want to explain one more scenario of our civil defense which is related with the corruption of this department. This scenario also shows the present scenario of our bureaucracy. Nearly two months ago the fire service and civil defense published a recruitment circular for the position of fireman. Many applicants applied for this position and one of my elder brothers and his friend also applied for this post. To be recruited, the applicants have to go through a formal recruitment process. At first they have to attend a physical test and pass it to sit for the written exam. So, my brother went and passed that test but he did not see his friend doing the physical test. When my brother sat for the written test he saw his friend to attend the test after the exam my brother asked his friend that how is it possible to attend the written exam without passing the physical test. He said that he has managed a broker, that broker has connection with some high ranked officers of fire service department and dealt with them with money. After one month letter the friend of my brother told to him that he got the job by showing preference letters from one of our local MP and minister without passing any of the recruitment process. But my brother passed the written test he did not get the appointment letter. So, when we talk about the ideal types of bureaucracy in our country what can we predict? We can talk about the position of the official where we see that in the requirement of a firmly prescribed course of training, which demands the entire capacity for work for a long period of time. To maintain the duties, the recruited people should have the physical and mental capacity. The formal tests make sure that they have those capacities. But if there is corruption like this and they do not care about capacities, then it is harmful for the general people, the department and the people who recruited illegally. Physically unfit people can be harmed by the working procedure of fire service. If they do not have enough fitness, how they protect people and maintain security?

In the course of public administration I read “Bureaucracy” written by Weber. Weber said that the position of the officials in a modern bureaucracy is devoted to impersonal functional purposes. The officers should be loyal to their position in their own department. This is an ideal characteristic of bureaucracy. But this is missing in this fire service department. As we can see, some high ranked officers are taking money from people and recruiting them illegally. They are totally corrupted. Where is the “Impersonality” in their character? They are using their position and power for their personal advantage. They are avoiding the functional responsibilities to run the department properly, to maintain their duties and recruit the people who are suitable for the departmental activities. By doing corruption, they are weakening the ability of their own department just for their personal purposes. That’s why Weber identified impersonality as an important and crucial character of bureaucracy. Without it bureaucracy cannot function well. Corruption in bureaucracy is not a new phenomenon in Bangladesh and no one knows how to end this problem. When I thought about it deeply, I felt sorry for my brother and other people like him, who could not bribe the higher officials. I thought again and again, but ended up in some question. Is it possible to get rid of corruption completely? If the answer is yes, then how can it be? Or, if the answer is no, then what about the future of the bureaucracy in Bangladesh? I even do not know the answer of these questions exists or not. I am just looking for the answer.