One of the primary reasons which made Covid-19 so dangerous and allowed it to spread so efficiently throughout the world was how little we knew about it, leading to widespread misinformation among the public.
The more we know about this virus, the more pro-actively will we be able to not only protect ourselves against falsities and scams, but also plan and implement a more targeted approach towards taking steps to prevent it from spreading even further and, just as importantly, lead to a more efficient approach towards aiding those affected by the coronavirus.
In this regard, the Dhaka Divisional Commissioner’s Office deserves praise -- they have developed software -- called Report Management System -- which has made the collection and management of Covid-19 data much easier and more efficient, leading to its widespread adoption amongst all field-level officials across the city.
Such initiatives must not only be applauded but celebrated as, by also providing an increased level of transparency, it tackles the root of most, if not all, problems which continue to plague our nation -- inefficiency and, subsequently, corruption.
That’s not all: The Dhaka Divisional Commissioner’s Office has also been developing or using digital tools to provide similar levels of efficiency and convenience in other areas, such as mobile courts and vacancy management and, undoubtedly, stands as a true representative of Digital Bangladesh and the very potential it wishes to tap into.
But equally saddening is the realization of how rare such examples are, with most public offices and institutions drowning under the nightmarish ubiquity of bureaucratic red tape.
Considering the amount of tax-payer money and time that is wasted as a result of corruption -- undoubtedly the most crucial obstacle in our developmental journey -- we must, of course, have a zero-tolerance policy for corruption from a legal standpoint but, at the same time, encourage such initiatives and adopt them wherever possible.
