MISMANAGEMENT, corruption and absence of proper planning are responsible for the losses incurred by the state-owned jute and sugar mills, and workers in no way can be blamed, a group of educationists and researchers said of a research on the recent closures of the jute and sugar mills at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity yesterday.
They also said the argument that privatisation would lead to the expansion of the industries had no basis. They argued that about 75 industries in the country were handed over private owners from 1993 to 2010. Thirty-one of them were later found closed. Land and equipment of those industries were either looted or huge bank loans were taken showing the abandoned land.
The government has recently closed 25 state-owned jute mills due to huge losses incurred in operating them, throwing around 50,000 workers into uncertainty. The government has also decided to shut down six out of the 15 state-run sugar mills, citing losses as the reason. The six mills employ around 3,000 workers.
The speakers also placed a seven-point demand that include taking necessary steps to reduce the losses by increasing the production capacity, immediately opening the mills, identification of those involved in irregularities and corruption at the mills and taking legal action against them, and modernisation of the mills equipment.
It is unfortunate that as individuals — especially those in power, we don’t have the ability to put the interest of the nation before that of our narrow self interest. Due to huge mismanagement and corruption entire industries are closing down — but the people who are supposed to be running them don’t give a damn by fuelling their corrupt activities they are destroying the lifeblood of a nation.
Corruption means that our industries can’t take on international competitiveness — so by pocketing money illegally the corrupt officials are destroying thousands of livelihoods because our industries aren’t efficient. It costs us roughly double to make sugar compared to the international market, and even in the production of jute — a fibre which we grow in abundance, we lag because we haven’t been able to make our factories upto date with the recent world standards.
So entire regions are going to suffer because of the actions of a few corrupt officials who are too busy lining their own pockets and because they don’t give a damn about the welfare of the average person. Bengal under British rule was devastated not due to war but due to the economic policies of the British —unfortunately we seem to be quite capable of doing the same to our nation by ourselves.
They also said the argument that privatisation would lead to the expansion of the industries had no basis. They argued that about 75 industries in the country were handed over private owners from 1993 to 2010. Thirty-one of them were later found closed. Land and equipment of those industries were either looted or huge bank loans were taken showing the abandoned land.
The government has recently closed 25 state-owned jute mills due to huge losses incurred in operating them, throwing around 50,000 workers into uncertainty. The government has also decided to shut down six out of the 15 state-run sugar mills, citing losses as the reason. The six mills employ around 3,000 workers.
The speakers also placed a seven-point demand that include taking necessary steps to reduce the losses by increasing the production capacity, immediately opening the mills, identification of those involved in irregularities and corruption at the mills and taking legal action against them, and modernisation of the mills equipment.
It is unfortunate that as individuals — especially those in power, we don’t have the ability to put the interest of the nation before that of our narrow self interest. Due to huge mismanagement and corruption entire industries are closing down — but the people who are supposed to be running them don’t give a damn by fuelling their corrupt activities they are destroying the lifeblood of a nation.
Corruption means that our industries can’t take on international competitiveness — so by pocketing money illegally the corrupt officials are destroying thousands of livelihoods because our industries aren’t efficient. It costs us roughly double to make sugar compared to the international market, and even in the production of jute — a fibre which we grow in abundance, we lag because we haven’t been able to make our factories upto date with the recent world standards.
So entire regions are going to suffer because of the actions of a few corrupt officials who are too busy lining their own pockets and because they don’t give a damn about the welfare of the average person. Bengal under British rule was devastated not due to war but due to the economic policies of the British —unfortunately we seem to be quite capable of doing the same to our nation by ourselves.
