FE Report
The dialogue on "Bangladesh Economy and Future Perspective" that the Ministry of Commerce organised Wednesday at Radisson Water Garden Hotel in the city provided a positive signal to the country's businesses about the strategies, priorities and goals of the caretaker government (CG) on the economic front.
Chief Adviser Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed reiterated the firm commitment of the CG to carrying forward reforms at all levels in his address to the 'dialogue' that was chaired by Finance & Planning, Commerce, Post and Telecommunications Adviser Dr. A. B. Mirza Md. Azizul Islam.
"While most of our reforms have, thus, far focused on governance and election, we are also committed to bring about change for creating an enabling environment for business and investment in the country. We consider high level of investors' confidence to be a key component of such an enabling environment", the Chief Adviser noted.
He pointed out the reasons -- "the ability to innovate, generate new ideas and identify opportunities for new products, markets or techniques" and "the dynamism and flexibility to efficiently mobilise the needed resources for putting ideas into practice" -- for which the country's poverty reduction strategy has emphasised the role of the private sector as the engine of growth.
Chief of the Bangladesh Army General Moeen U. Ahmed, ndc, PSC who was the special guest on the occasion, highlighted the need "to pursue a holistic approach to economic development, accept the business community as responsible friend, contributor and goal setter that should regenerate our economic cycle aimed at poverty eradication and remodelling societal need around developing people below poverty level."
In his keynote paper, 'Bangladesh Economic Strategies and Priorities', the Chief of Army Staff said: "While standing on the confrontation of the past and the present, virtues and values by the beneficiary groups have been flouted, irrespective of their positions and associations, as these groups secured an idea of perennial adventure of existence with no thoughts that once for all they will be summoned to the dock of justice".
Describing the private sector as the mainstay of economic force in Bangladesh, General Moeen U Ahmed said it is "crucial in our policy to create hope and express confidence in our business community for promoting an equitable society, quality of life and reducing economic disparity". "The resonance of rural Bangladesh is the voice of current Bangladeshi history. It seems clearer that, we as Bangladeshis must learn to frame our policies as expected of a university student, rickshaw puller, garments worker, call operator, nurse, clerk and a corporate leader. They compose an 'internal order of economies' and all sources of our political activity must be cycled through economic development to ensure our strategic national thrust is achievable by the sustained growth and development of quality human resource".
The participants in the dialogue included the leaders of the country's business community, leading functionaries of the government, high civil and military officials and representatives of the civil society.
In his address of welcome, Finance and Planning Adviser AB Mirza Md Azizul Islam noted that board macro-economic indicators were on track and those reflected amply well that the businesses did not lack in confidence about the major economic policies of the government. One major goal of the such policies of the government is to provide an enabling environment for the businesses to operate efficiently on the basis of their competitive strength, he added.
Two presentations -- one on "Wake up -- a new Bangladesh knocks at our your door" and the other on "The challenge-E (Entrepreneurship)" -- were made at the opening session of the dialogue by Director of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Mr MA Rouf Chowdhury and a former president of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Mr Annisul Huq respectively.
President of International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh, Mr Mahbubur Rahman also addressed the session.
In the open forum discussion, a good number of participants expressed their views on the prevailing state of affairs relating to the economy. Different issues like monetary policy, interest rate, policy stability, predictability of business environment, costs of doing business, balanced regional development, agri-growth supporting measures, post-flood rehabilitation, port-operations, infrastructural support facilities, power supply, conditionality of donor-supported programmes, etc., featured in such discussions.
However, one dominant theme of discussions related to fear factor created by, what the FBCCI Director Mr MA Rouf Chowdhury noted, "anti-corruption and anti-hoarding drives, value added tax and other tax drives, bank account searching drive, breaking hats and bazaars on government land, too many questions on every activity and to many lists of offences".
The Chief Adviser and the Chief of the Army Staff made the responses to the comments and observations made by the participants in the open forum discussion.
Finance Adviser Mirza Md Azizul Islam told the participants that the government would hold further discussions with the representatives of the businesses on various sector-wise and specific issues raised by the participants. Assurances were given by them about giving very careful consideration to the points made by them while operationalising and implementing the economic policies of the government.
In this context, Wednesday's dialogue would be considered useful for assessing the pulse of the business community and reviewing the economic priorities of the government for accelerating the pace of the growth momentum of the national economy.
The observation of the Chief Adviser at the dialogue about the government being conscious of the fact that some of its (Government's) actions designed to improve governance has affected business confidence.
"This is not unexpected at a time of rapid and significant changes, when established ways of doing things are challenged. I would however, like to suggest that our efforts to improve governance and reduce corruption will ultimately aid private sector development in the country. However, there may have been some unintended negative fallout. We have tried to deal with these through consultations with private sector representatives. We shall continue to fine-tune our efforts so that undesirable negative fallouts are minimised", he told the audience on the occasion.
In his key note paper, Chief of Army Staff General Moeen U Ahmed termed the present caretaker government as reformist. "This caretaker government has received an overwhelming mandate of the population, and still the majority is bearing the pressure of high price, relocation, reforms and system improvements. I appreciate the patience on the part of the people being able to understand, unlike any other previous caretaker, this is a 'reformist caretaker government'. As it is taking some hard actions -- it can not be politically popular but has a silent popular consent from every citizen of the country", he noted.
Mentioning the unfortunate incident of Dhaka University on August 20, he said this "has left a mole in last half year governance of the Caretaker administration". "Disputes and problems, whatever their variety, whether they are subtler act of few academicians or naked form of street hostility of agitated innocent citizens are deplorable, and once more proved students are hostage to the unconscious politics in government universities and colleges both by their political masters and patrons. We shall need to develop a compatible and congruous approach to see beyond today, practise these ones tomorrow and set a benchmark for Bangladesh beyond day after tomorrow", he added.
Continuing, he observed: "The understanding I have that the business community is suffering from an insecurity that should not have stressed on itself. The strains are from a host of circumspective reasons best known to few but in the process it has introduced an inactive business cycle shaking small traders with double faced policy of unknown fear and non-commitment even at bureaucratic level. The government will not go beyond acceptable norms and, thereby harm the foundation of the economy. In other words, political reforms must be aligned with economic good sense for the country to prosper in both these fields. The political goals of the present administration are, therefore, limited to cleaning up politics and dismantling the support base of corruption in business and the bureaucracy so that truly free and fair elections may be held by 2008".
In response to queries, comments and observatives made by the representatives of the business leaders at the dialogue sessions, General Moeen U. Ahmed said, actions against a good number of suspected corrupts out of a list that contains of 220 persons in total have been taken. After such actions are complete against all those in the list, everyone else from thereon will be responsible for their own activities, he added.
Anti-graft drive to ultimately help private sector: CA
FE Team | Published: September 06, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
Share if you like