The WB’s concern that the economy is now suffering from stagnant private sector investment — both local and foreign, slowdown in remittance and weakness in the financial sector along with safety issues need to be effectively handled. It is a timely reminder where Bangladesh economy is at high risk. The government is now accelerating public sector investment in the economy to overcome the slow down in private sector investment thereby reducing the role of private sector as the engine of growth. On the other hand it is burdening tax-payers to provide additional fund to the government to do things what the private sector is expected to do. It is also spreading corruption and misuse of public fund. We have a situation now as the WB has also pointed out when more capital is flying out of the country than coming into, mainly in absence of investment friendly climate. The political stand-off as it continues will not do any good. Not big private investment is taking place, even restaurants, beauty parlours and shopping malls are losing business at Gulshan as people don’t want to visit such places overcoming so many barriers.
The police operations in which young ones are being killed as terrorists without the need of proving in a court of law should be frightening for all, including foreign investors. Early this week eleven persons were killed by raiding houses without any overt action of terrorism. So by our own ruthless action and killing people easily as terrorists, we are telling the world that we are facing growing terrorism.
The WB report made the important disclosure that private investment as a percentage of GDP has declined to a three-year low at 21.78 percent in fiscal 2015-16 while the macro-economic stability is mainly resting a significant rise in public investment. It grew from 28.9 percent of GDP in 2014-15 to 29.4 percent in 2015-16. The increased public investment is mainly going to some mega projects showing higher growth rate but depressing other socio-economic sectors. We are afraid whether the economy will be able to sustain such mismatch at the end.
