Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
The economy is taking grievous wounds from the non-stop nationwide blockade and intermittent hartals enforced by BNP-led opposition alliance, economists and business leaders said.
The ongoing blockade programme entered 53rd day on Thursday and with the extension of hartal (shutdown) until Friday morning by the opposition alliance, hartal set a record for all working days in a month.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said the national economy had suffered a loss of over Tk 1.2 lakh crore due to the indefinite blockade and hartal.
Political violence since January 5 has caused deaths of 101 people and miscreants torched and vandalised 1,173 vehicles, the Prime Minister told the parliament replying a lawmaker’s question.
“The current political unrest is taking a heavy toll on the economy as non-stop blockade and long-spell hartal are seriously hampering trade, business and manufacturing activities across the country,” Dr Khandoker Ibrahim Khaled, an economist, told The New Nation on Thursday.
He said, BNP-led opposition is pursuing a destructive form of political
programme keeping hostage the people and the economy which is totally unacceptable.
“Acts of sabotage and violence are not only leading to loss of lives and properties, they are also causing miseries to the people and tarnishing the image of the country abroad,” he commented.
Dr Khandoker Ibrahim Khaled, a former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, further said, a prolonged political turmoil will have a short, mid and long-term impact on all economic fronts, harming its growth prospect.
He urged the BNP-led opposition to stop their ongoing political programme and mobilise public support to press home their demands.
“They must carry out peaceful political programme shunning the path of violence to save the economy and interest of the people,” he noted.
“The current political upheaval is hampering exports, production and distribution chain in the short term. But this would hurt investment in the longer term,” said Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam, a former adviser of the caretaker government.
He mentioned that Bangladesh economy was growing at an average 6.0 per cent rate over the last one decade riding on garment exports, remittance and bright performance of service and agro sectors.
“But such a growth may not be maintained if political turmoil prolongs. In my mind, the GDP growth may fall below the 6.0 per cent in the current fiscal taking a heat from the current political unrest,” he said.
Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam further said that the collapse of the supply chain would lead to a rise in commodity prices intensifying miseries of the common people. Besides, there are potential signs of slowing exports which could cause balance of payment problems for the country.
“The current political violence has hit the country’s garment sector hard, causing a 30 per cent drop in production. It also led to fall in export orders to the tune of 25-30 per cent,” said M Shahidullah Azim, Vice-President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
Ready-made garments (RMG) account for 80 per cent of Bangladesh’s total exports. The garment industry, a key driver of the economy, employs nearly 40 lakh people, mostly women.
“We’re bleeding as blockade and strike hurt exports and production of the apparel industry due to lack of transport. It is also forcing many garment factory owners to ship their goods by air incurring additional expenses in fear of missing deadlines,” he said.
The BGMEA leader further said the foreign buyers have stopped placing new orders and scrapped business tours to Bangladesh fearing security threats. Many of them also canceled export orders and shifted to other countries losing faith on us.
“If the current political situation is not improved immediately, many RMG units will face closure, leading not only thousands of workers to jobless but also forcing many entrepreneurs to bankrupt,” he added.
M Shahidullah Azim said that the economy as a whole has been battered by the present violence and urged the political parties to keep economy out of destructive programmes to help keep the wheel of the economy moving.
The economy is taking grievous wounds from the non-stop nationwide blockade and intermittent hartals enforced by BNP-led opposition alliance, economists and business leaders said.
The ongoing blockade programme entered 53rd day on Thursday and with the extension of hartal (shutdown) until Friday morning by the opposition alliance, hartal set a record for all working days in a month.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said the national economy had suffered a loss of over Tk 1.2 lakh crore due to the indefinite blockade and hartal.
Political violence since January 5 has caused deaths of 101 people and miscreants torched and vandalised 1,173 vehicles, the Prime Minister told the parliament replying a lawmaker’s question.
“The current political unrest is taking a heavy toll on the economy as non-stop blockade and long-spell hartal are seriously hampering trade, business and manufacturing activities across the country,” Dr Khandoker Ibrahim Khaled, an economist, told The New Nation on Thursday.
He said, BNP-led opposition is pursuing a destructive form of political
programme keeping hostage the people and the economy which is totally unacceptable.
“Acts of sabotage and violence are not only leading to loss of lives and properties, they are also causing miseries to the people and tarnishing the image of the country abroad,” he commented.
Dr Khandoker Ibrahim Khaled, a former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, further said, a prolonged political turmoil will have a short, mid and long-term impact on all economic fronts, harming its growth prospect.
He urged the BNP-led opposition to stop their ongoing political programme and mobilise public support to press home their demands.
“They must carry out peaceful political programme shunning the path of violence to save the economy and interest of the people,” he noted.
“The current political upheaval is hampering exports, production and distribution chain in the short term. But this would hurt investment in the longer term,” said Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam, a former adviser of the caretaker government.
He mentioned that Bangladesh economy was growing at an average 6.0 per cent rate over the last one decade riding on garment exports, remittance and bright performance of service and agro sectors.
“But such a growth may not be maintained if political turmoil prolongs. In my mind, the GDP growth may fall below the 6.0 per cent in the current fiscal taking a heat from the current political unrest,” he said.
Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam further said that the collapse of the supply chain would lead to a rise in commodity prices intensifying miseries of the common people. Besides, there are potential signs of slowing exports which could cause balance of payment problems for the country.
“The current political violence has hit the country’s garment sector hard, causing a 30 per cent drop in production. It also led to fall in export orders to the tune of 25-30 per cent,” said M Shahidullah Azim, Vice-President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
Ready-made garments (RMG) account for 80 per cent of Bangladesh’s total exports. The garment industry, a key driver of the economy, employs nearly 40 lakh people, mostly women.
“We’re bleeding as blockade and strike hurt exports and production of the apparel industry due to lack of transport. It is also forcing many garment factory owners to ship their goods by air incurring additional expenses in fear of missing deadlines,” he said.
The BGMEA leader further said the foreign buyers have stopped placing new orders and scrapped business tours to Bangladesh fearing security threats. Many of them also canceled export orders and shifted to other countries losing faith on us.
“If the current political situation is not improved immediately, many RMG units will face closure, leading not only thousands of workers to jobless but also forcing many entrepreneurs to bankrupt,” he added.
M Shahidullah Azim said that the economy as a whole has been battered by the present violence and urged the political parties to keep economy out of destructive programmes to help keep the wheel of the economy moving.
