A media report says despite impressive economic growth and development performance over the past few decades, Bangladesh has failed to build its institutional capacities – a failure that may prevent it from making the LDC graduation smooth and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It may work as a barrier to smoothly become an upper income or developed country by 2041. It remains a major constraint because major improvements in economic and social outcomes have not been accompanied by institutional development. The country’s institutional capacity remains not only weak but in many cases ranks among the lowest in the world.
The report based on discussion at a virtual international conference on fifty years of Bangladesh independence has rightly blamed ineffective regulations at almost every level. The banking sector lacks effective control when powerful people are laundering funds and not repaying loans, the central bank lacks autonomy to run the sector independently from undue government control. Moreover an ineffective Anti-corruption Commission, corruption in the office of Comptroller and Auditor General and pervasive corruption in almost all public offices and private businesses are some high points allowing laundering of resources and swelling graft. We have regulatory bodies but they lack power and often ignore crimes.
We would say the quality of bureaucracy has not improved over the years to control public finance and seal misappropriation and misuse; rather it has become more challenging as the country’s revenue budget and the development budget are exponentially growing. The judiciary is also not properly functioning to dispense justice; the rule of law fails to reach powerful people breaking law. In our system big businesses and politically powerful people are not accountable to any regulatory body. The capacity of our institutions is so poor that protecting public interest is not considered important. The government will not face free elections of the people so it is easy to spread lies freely.
