The World Bank (WB) has upgraded Bangladesh’s rating of development status to lower middle income group in an announcement on July 1 from Washington. Pointing to Bangladesh’s latest per capita Gross National Income (GNI) at $1,314, the WB said as per standard classification a country is treated in the lower middle-income status when its GNI varies from $1,046 to $4,125. So Bangladesh is very much in it. We welcome the WB’s upgradation rating; which would definitely enhance the country’s image abroad. Needless to say three other countries like Kenya, Myanmar and Tajikistan also have been upgraded to lower middle-income status on the occasion.
The upgradation of the country status will no doubt inspire us to achieve faster growth. But here question also arises whether it could have been much earlier attained and again whether we can claim to have achieved it even now given the political chaos and many shortcomings behind it. Experts say Bangladesh must have stable political government and economic soundness, human development, education and adequate infrastructure to sustain the pressure of higher growth. It must have also certain minimum per capita income in which, however the country has already graduated. But it is still lacking in two other broad criteria. So the country would still continue to be bracketed as least developed nation before these shortcomings were overcome.
But what the people of Bangladesh believe is that had there been an effective government in power — be it the latest one or the previous ones — Bangladesh would have become a middle-income nation much before. Even prior to the liberation, the economic growth performance of the then Pakistan was compared to that of South Korea. The newly independent Bangladesh has thus inherited the scope and the potentials to become a developed nation quickly if the subsequent governments were competent and politics stable. Bangladesh private sector is highly productive and proved resilient to break global barrier in shortest possible time. NGOs also played the most vibrant role but the political governments, one after another, were the root cause of the country’s lagging behind. Many believe that Bangladesh could be rated with Thailand and Malaysia, not with Myanmar and Kenya now had it been properly guided by able political leaders.
The country’s recent political situation marred with blockade and hartals in one hand and denial of people’s voting right triggering violence and social unrest by destroyed many potentials for growth. Corruption and money laundering are intensely worrying subjects for the nation. Bangladesh money is spilling over in foreign banks and going unaccounted while computing the Gross National Income, which is the strongest parameter in estimating middle-income status. Moreover, the country is reportedly losing at least two percent of GDP annually in terms of corruption and had there been a transparent and accountable government and uninterrupted peace, it has the potentials to become a middle-income nation a decade ago.
Still we feel reassured of our capability by the WB’s rating and the nation must therefore sort out the political crisis above anything to clear the way to faster growth. The failure lies with political leadership. As a nation, we have not been able to prove our potential for wrong leadership.
But what the people of Bangladesh believe is that had there been an effective government in power — be it the latest one or the previous ones — Bangladesh would have become a middle-income nation much before. Even prior to the liberation, the economic growth performance of the then Pakistan was compared to that of South Korea. The newly independent Bangladesh has thus inherited the scope and the potentials to become a developed nation quickly if the subsequent governments were competent and politics stable. Bangladesh private sector is highly productive and proved resilient to break global barrier in shortest possible time. NGOs also played the most vibrant role but the political governments, one after another, were the root cause of the country’s lagging behind. Many believe that Bangladesh could be rated with Thailand and Malaysia, not with Myanmar and Kenya now had it been properly guided by able political leaders.
The country’s recent political situation marred with blockade and hartals in one hand and denial of people’s voting right triggering violence and social unrest by destroyed many potentials for growth. Corruption and money laundering are intensely worrying subjects for the nation. Bangladesh money is spilling over in foreign banks and going unaccounted while computing the Gross National Income, which is the strongest parameter in estimating middle-income status. Moreover, the country is reportedly losing at least two percent of GDP annually in terms of corruption and had there been a transparent and accountable government and uninterrupted peace, it has the potentials to become a middle-income nation a decade ago.
Still we feel reassured of our capability by the WB’s rating and the nation must therefore sort out the political crisis above anything to clear the way to faster growth. The failure lies with political leadership. As a nation, we have not been able to prove our potential for wrong leadership.
