At this stage, there is no doubting Bangladesh’s overall progress as an economy. Over the last 15 years especially, with the focus on creating a “Digital Bangladesh,” Bangladesh has made great strides in digitizing public service delivery. This is a fact, and we should commend the authorities for its vision and execution.
Nevertheless, while the digitization of public service delivery is indeed a reality, we have unfortunately not been rid of bureaucracy and cumbersome procedures. Yes, we are able to apply for National ID Cards and passports online, but it is unfortunate that not only are most people simply unaware of the digital processes but any errors in the digitization process take too much effort to fix.
Ultimately, despite the push for digitization, there exists a human element to our government services, and while it may be impossible to completely be rid of this in Bangladesh, it continues to bog the overall system down. The fact that even today, it is human errors that remain the major hurdles for citizens to receive government services is indeed a shame.
This is especially true for correcting mistakes in the NID; the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal himself admitted that there were millions of errors in NID cards across Bangladesh.
As the NID has become, rightfully, the most important document for a Bangladeshi citizen, it is only sensible that, owing to its importance, this is an area where resources are prioritized, so that citizens are able to efficiently amend any possible errors.
Digitization is all well and good, and it has transformed our country, but it is the simplification of service delivery that is most important for any citizen of any nation, and the marker of true, equitable development and progress.
