The nation celebrates today the 43rd anniversary of its victory over the Pakistani occupation forces.
The setting in which the celebration takes place every year does not remain the same because of the changes that are constantly taking place in different areas of national life, including politics and economy.
The situation in which the last year's Victory Day celebration had taken place is different from that of this year. The countrywide violence over the demand for institution of a poll-time caretaker government had stirred up severe worries among the people.
But there were something to celebrate then over the punishment meted out to the lackeys of Pakistani occupation army for the crimes that they had committed against freedom-loving people of this country. As the trial is still on, the cause of celebration on that account also remains in place this time, too. But the worries over political development do still exist since many tend to believe that the last general election held on January 05 this year had not succeeded to produce a truly 'representative' parliament and also a 'representative' government.
And the political developments taking place since the dissolution of the last parliament do also have a bearing on the economy. The economy achieved a 6.0 per cent plus growth in the last fiscal and the growth rate this fiscal could be around the same rate or somewhat more, depending upon a variety of factors, both endogenous and exogenous. But the fact remains that there prevails a sort of uneasiness among trade and business operators. The happenings beyond the areas of economy, in many cases, are not conducive to economic growth.
There are ample indications that all the organs of the state and the major national institutions are yet to function properly and thus effectively. Rather criticisms are galore that most national institutions are on the verge of ruination because of poor governance and politicisation. However, the rot is not any regime-specific issue. There could be variations in mal-governance and politicisation. But most governments are to share the blame.
The state of affairs with 'governance' and the consequences thereof were explained well by noted Bangladesh economist Prof. Wahiduddin Mahmud at a three-day international conference held in Dhaka last week.
"The core government system is characterized by a dysfunctional parliament, highly confrontational politics, absence of democratic practices within the major parties, politicization of major state institutions and a corrupt and inefficient bureaucracy", Prof. Mahmud, who teaches Economics at Dhaka University and a former adviser to caretaker government, said.
Does a country need anything more to invite poor global rating and negative response from the foreign investors? Yet with political instability, both short-lived and prolonged, poor governance, corruption and institutional deficiencies, Bangladesh could achieve a 'reasonable' level of economic progress since 1990.
Besides, its impressive scorecard in areas of human development indicators has baffled many economists of international repute. Its human development successes are often dubbed as 'Bangladesh paradox' at the global level.
The achievements, though modest, at times come as a surprise to many local experts too. This prompts some of them to express reservation about the official statistics. Since there is no independent source of data concerning major economic indicators, one has to remain contended with the data dished out by the official statistical organisation.
However, one has to recognize the fact that a vibrant private sector and a resilient peasantry are behind the respectable level of growth that the country has been achieving for more than two and a half decades. The apparel sector and Bangladeshi migrant workers have turned out to be the two main pillars of the Bangladesh economy. Barring recent fluctuations, the 'duo' have been the props for the country's foreign exchange reserve, in addition to providing employment to more than 10 million people.
Bangladesh can hardly do without an ever-expanding apparel sector, not just for forex inflow but also for absorbing a large number of unskilled workers entering the job market every year. The same is true in the case of manpower export.
Undeniably, without government's policy support it would not have been possible to achieve a 6.0 economic growth rate or continuous decline in poverty rate. What pains most people is that Bangladesh could have done far better had the governance been up to the desired level and state institutions performed credibly without any bias towards any individual or political party.
The people of this country have all the potential to achieve more, both politically and economically. But a section of politicians guided by their narrow individual and party interests have stood in their (people's) way. However, the contribution of politicians to the country's independence struggle and its march towards economic progress is undeniable. But the self-seeking variety of politicians has caused enough of harm to the country as well. In this age of global integration and knowledge-based society, the moot-question here remains: how long will this nation have to wait for a fundamental shift in the mindset of its politicians?
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