Freedom fighter allowances pending; Ministry working to solve MIS outage

A global glitch in the PHP programming language, which has caused widespread technical disruptions across the world, has hit Bangladesh, affecting the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs' Management Information System (MIS) software.

As a consequence of the technical breakdown, the release of the October honorarium for freedom fighters has been suspended. Beneficiaries have not received their allowances up to the time of filing this report.

The Ministry of Liberation War Affairs issued a formal notification stating that the MIS portal containing the database records of freedom fighters (mis.molwa.gov.bd) is currently shut down due to technical complications.

The notification stated that the software will resume operations once technical issues are rectified and necessary system audits are completed, while the ministry expressed sincere regret for the temporary inconvenience caused to the beneficiaries.

Long accustomed to receiving their regular monthly allowances on schedule, elderly freedom fighters and members of martyr families are facing severe financial hardship and distress due to the delayed October disbursements. Bank and local sources indicate that the technical failures and prolonged administrative procedures have created widespread uncertainty.

Amid soaring market prices for essential commodities, many underprivileged and ailing freedom fighters are struggling to purchase necessary medicines and cover daily living expenses, prompting urgent demands for a swift resolution and the immediate disbursement of their overdue allowances.

Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs, Md. Shakiluzzaman, told The Daily Observer regarding the suspended allowances, "There is no scope for confusion or paying heed to rumors. The ICT division of our ministry is working tirelessly to resolve the complication. We are always conscious regarding the allowances and overall welfare of freedom fighters. It is expected that the technical complications will be resolved very shortly, and the honorarium will be credited to the accounts of the freedom fighters as soon as the resolution is achieved."

Alongside the technical glitches, the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs has directed relevant authorities to urgently reconstitute upazila and a metropolitan-level screening committee to ensure the distribution of honorariums is conducted with greater transparency and efficiency.

According to an official letter issued on November 1 by Welfare Branch-2 of the ministry, District Commissioners (DCs) and Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs) were instructed to take necessary actions on a priority basis. The communication highlighted that pursuant to directives from the Prime Minister’s Office, field-level committees across various branches of the ministry require immediate restructuring.

Paragraph 6 of the 'Freedom Fighter Honorarium Distribution Order, 2020' outlines the statutory requirement for establishing upazila committees at the upazila level and metropolitan committees at the metropolitan level to verify and process applications submitted by freedom fighters or beneficiaries for their honorariums.

District and upazila administrations have been requested to swiftly complete the formation of these committees in accordance with the relevant guidelines. However, a definitive timeframe for the full completion of these technical repairs and administrative procedures remains unspecified.

-SC/SA