Pragmatic steps required to sustain remittance inflow

This letter is in reference to an article titled "Remittance flow up 15pc in 2018" that was published in the Financial Express on January 03, 2019. The article stated that inward remittance jumped by nearly 15 per cent or around $2.0 billion in calendar year 2018 following the depreciation of taka against dollar. The total remittance inflow into the country for 2018 was $15.53 billion, up from $13.54 billion a year ago despite a falling trend in outbound jobs of Bangladeshis. The uptrend in fuel oil prices globally also contributed to this increased flow, particularly from the Middle-Eastern countries.

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) as well as the government is working continuously to expedite remittance inflows from different parts of the world. It should be mentioned that remittance is the life blood of our national economy and the contribution of remittance to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) is very significant as the funds are used for various projects.

This upward trend has become possible primarily due to increased monitoring by the BB which has taken measures to crackdown on informal channels like Hundi, which was traditionally used by Bangladeshis abroad to send money home. The fact that banks have introduced higher commissions for remitters to repatriate money through the legal financial system has also helped beef up inward remittances.

While the remitters and the government are playing their parts, it has also been reported by many dailies and television channels recently that the Bangladeshi missions in foreign countries rarely come to the help of Bangladeshi workers living in those countries.

Countries like India, Philippines and Sri Lanka are very active through their missions abroad. They help their expatriates in foreign countries quite efficiently.

Additionally, female domestic workers who are going to Middle East from Bangladesh often complain about exploitation and harassment. The government should have a specific policy that will address these issues.

I believe that more support should be provided to Bangladeshi migrant workers in every way possible. We have millions of expatriate workers and if they can remit their hard-earned money through the formal channels, then the economy will be greatly benefitted.

Keeping this in mind, our government should monitor the causes of remittance inflow regularly and take pragmatic steps to sustain the buoyant remittance inflow in the coming days.

Md. Zillur Rahaman,

Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd.

Lalmohan Branch, Bhola.

[email protected]