The organised sectors of the Bangladesh economy have come to a virtual halt due to the ongoing political turmoil. It was, however, not unexpected. Since the constitutional amendment that had scrapped the caretaker system, one and all feared its potentially dangerous fallout on the country. It is seen clearly today.
It is simply a man-made disaster Bangladesh is facing today. Hartals and blockades have already made all organised sectors of the economy bleed white. Nobel laureate Prof Amartya Sen, who is articulate about highlighting Bangladesh's possible successes in achieving most of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), possibly finds it now it quite disconcerting to see what is happening to the country of his ancestors these days.
Hartals and blockades over the system of polls-time government have already cost precious human lives and caused much damage to the national property. These have sent the key players of the economy gasping for life.
That the members of the business community are extremely exasperated over blockades and hartals is apparent from their plans, chalked out of their sheer desperation, to lay siege to residences of two leading ladies of Bangladesh's politics, Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia. They want them to run their businesses. They have implored them to keep the industrial sector out of the purview of their political programmes like hartals and blockades.
"Keep the Dhaka-Chittagong highway out of the purview of hartal and blockade so that the goods-laden vehicles can reach their destination. Keep all sorts of goods-laden vehicles that carry inputs and outputs to, and from, the related forward and backward linkage industries of the readymade garment sector out of the purview of political programmes," said BGMEA president Atiqul Islam.
Atiqul Islam made the call from a human chain formed in front of the BGMEA building in the capital last Saturday. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), among others, organised the human chain. Other trade bodies, including the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), German-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Exporters Association of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BPGMEA) and Bangladesh Garments Accessories & Packaging Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BGAPMEA) also took part in the human chain.
Businessmen and entrepreneurs are seriously concerned over the grave political situation. How will the businessmen pay wages to their workers? How will they pay interest charges on their loans and credits from banks? How will they met their debt servicing obligations? Who will give the additional transport fare that follows the blockades?
The country is burning in the vindication of politics. The economy is burning, so does the garment sector, the FBCCI Vice-President Helal Uddin said. He quite rightly vented his anger, saying that the businessmen do not bear the flags of the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), but the flag of the country.
The members of the business community, as per their decision, will come down to the street across the country with white flags on December 15 to protest the ongoing harmful confrontational political course of actions.
The garment sector, the backbone of the country's economy which contributes over three-fourths of its total foreign exchange earnings, is now set to be in ruins. Apparel orders are being shifted to the neighbouring countries. And once Bangladesh loses orders, it will be quite tough to woo them back.
The export-import activities now remain almost halted as hartals and blockades have severely hampered vehicular movements.
The consequences of enforcing hartals and blockades have been disastrous. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has already predicted a lower gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 5.8 per cent in the fiscal 2014 due to lower export growth and investment, apart from possible political unrest ahead of the national election. Consumer and investment demand will also be weaker. The ADB has warned about the consequences of political tensions in the lead-up to the elections. This is not helpful for maintaining steady economic activity.
The Wall Street Journal has brought to the notice of the international business community the plight of the Bangladesh economy at the hands of the country's politicians. It said: "Amid the fallout of a deadly garment-factory collapse in April, Bangladesh faces a more immediate economic threat from the massive strikes known as 'hartals,' which are bringing the country to its knees with disturbing, and rising, frequency.
"At the Pan Pacific Sonargaon, a popular business hotel, staff slipped notes under visitors' doors advising of the suspension of 'all vehicular movement' during strikes and warning guests not to venture off the property. Guests needing to go to the airport were ferried in a shuttle bus with armed guards that took back roads through an army base to avoid dangerous mobs.
"The hartals are spreading because Bangladesh is preparing for a national election that must be held by January, which has further inflamed passions.
"The strikes have cost the country more than $7.0 billion this year, or more than $200 million a day, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry estimates. Many analysts believe hartals will become even more common as the election approaches."
Restive politics has meant continuing uncertainty for foreign investors who are undecided how much to stake on Bangladesh, which has lots of cheap labour but substandard infrastructure and unpredictable politics.
The common man is at his wit's end to run his family as prices of essentials have gone beyond his purchasing power due to frequent disruption of the supply-chain.
It is now for the politicians to pause and ponder how they will keep businesses out of their violent actions.
arjayster@gmail.com
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