We are dumbfounded to learn about major loopholes in the SIM Registration Guidelines made by the independent regulator Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). Without pointing fingers at anyone in particular, it is incomprehensible that BTRC had not foreseen the misuse of the loopholes left by them in the SIM registration guideline framed five years ago! Furthermore, what’s more shocking is that it took so long to be detected.

The revelation of the issue came to light in a special report carried by this daily yesterday. Whether the omission was unintentional or not is a matter of investigation. But, we fail to understand why after ordinary citizens went through the complicated process of biometric registrations, which were said to be foolproof, and are now told that the system has leaks. We hope that more money will not be spent in hiring consultants once again to rephrase the rules of SIM registration.

The problem in Bangladesh is that not much forethought is given to planning before we do things. When asked about it, most people say that things will be solved as problems arise. Thus, nothing seems to get done at one go. All initiatives require multiple efforts at the tax payer’s expense to reach perfection. If such omissions happen in public companies in developed countries, major systemic investigations are undertaken to find out who all benefited from it. But, we dare not expect that here. For, even if such investigations are undertaken, it would expose nothing to the hapless public.

We are one of the brainiest races in the world. Yet, our country is lagging far behind only because we prefer to use our God-gifted brains to get rich quickly. Also, the typical mindset is, ‘sarkar ka maal, dariya mein daal’ meaning that public money can be wasted for private gain. Till we come out of such regressive colonial mindsets, there can be no end to losses in the public sector enterprises. Free our country from all leaking loopholes to make profits.