The condition of Bangladesh’s economy is deteriorating even more as days are passing despite some measures taken by the government. Foreign exchange reserves are continuing to fall. Inflation in Bangladesh reached 7.56 per cent in June, the highest in nine years. Yesterday the dollar rate jumped to record Tk 105 in the kerb market.
Soon, the scheduled load-shedding put in place to offset the power crisis will affect the industrial production and that may, in turn, further impact the price of commodities in the market that has already been heated greatly. Though the news of the deal signed by Ukraine and Russia in Turkey has caused the capital markets around the world to gain momentum in the upward trend, in Bangladesh it is still on the losing streak.
Against this backdrop, the CPD (Centre for Policy Dialogue) and individual think tanks have rightly pointed out that the steps taken by the government to meet the current economic crisis are not adequate. The present crisis will certainly not be a long-term one, but it is not a short-term problem either. Therefore, for this present mid-term crisis, the short-term measures taken by the government will not be of much help.
The CPD, accordingly, has suggested to reform institutions, emphasising on the need of more revenue collection and overcoming loan default. The economists have also suggested exploring more gas to reduce excessive reliance on imports of oil to meet the country’s energy demand. Quick rental plants use costly fuel for production of electricity and these should be avoided at present. In fact, these plants should not have been used for the production of electricity in the country in the first place. Right from the beginning this policy of power generation that created more rooms for corruption was squarely criticised by the experts as well as the media.
According to the noted energy expert Badrul Imam, the present energy crisis is not due to war in Ukraine, but the government’s wrong policy here to blame. Over the last 20 years, Bangladesh drilled only 26 exploratory wells, making it one of the least explored countries with hydrocarbon potential. For him, the war has just exposed Bangladesh’s vulnerability. This observation of the former chairman of the Dhaka University’s geology department is solidly true.
The problem with our experts is that they always hesitate to tell the whole truth. The country needs change for an elected and accountable government not steeped in corruption to respond to the sensible suggestions. The chaotic policies the irresponsible bureaucrats advised and the unaccountable government felt free to accept should have been honestly explained.
Instead, they have suggested for the government some policy changes to rescue the economy at this late stage of economic paralysis when disorder prevails in every department of the government.
For the government’s ability to be surrounded by incompetent and corrupt sycophants would not have been possible for any accountable government in any other country where experts are bold and not opportunistic. It is our national disgrace and our people must suffer as disenfranchised without ability to form their own government.
