About reforms of TPOs
Jahangir Bin Alam | Sunday, 6 July 2008
THE role of Trade Promotion Organizations (TPOs) in a country for pursuing private sector led economic growth cannot be ignored if the government of the day really means business. Its the bounden responsibility of the TPOs to put forward their suggestions to the government on matters relating to its formulation of various policies affecting the overall growth and development of the national economy. In turn, the onus lies on the government to seek advice of the business community from time to time and act accordingly. But, while putting forward their proposals and recommendations to the authorities, the trade bodies should see to it that those are made with a view to creating a better business environment in the country, thereby, benefiting the national economy. Collective, but not the coterie interest should get the upper hand while doing so.
In Bangladesh, leading TPOs in general and their apex trade body - The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) in particular -- have been advising the government to the said end by way of ventilating the viewpoints of the country's private sector and intense lobbying to the effect from time to time. Some times such efforts succeed in bringing in positive results.
But, at times the efforts ends up in failure due to lack of cohesive approach, conflicting attitudes of various interest groups within the trade bodies and some times because of uncompromising attitude of the government authorities.
Although the FBCCI has so far made significant strides in playing its assigned role, certain quarters feel that it has not been able to live up to the expectations of its constituents because of the above-said reasons. However, some of its powerful constituents like the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI), Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) have been playing significant roles in ventilating the viewpoints of their respective members, while the less powerful ones, mostly located outside the capital city fail to do so because of their location being far away from the seat of the government and the apex trade body. The powerful trade bodies hardly need any assistance from the FBCCI in interacting with government and pursuing their respective agenda.
But, the smaller and weaker members of the apex trade body always look at it for taking up their issues with the government and seeking redress to the effect. Perhaps it will not be impertinent here to say that like most other public and private sector institutions of the country; the apex trade promotion body has also become highly politicised, particularly over the past two decades or so, thereby, giving rise to inefficiency, group rivalry, intrigue and corruption of certain quarters within its constituents. A powerful coterie from within and outside the body controls the organisation including the elections held periodically to elect its office bearers.
The character of the coterie changes with the change of the national government. This has been exacerbated through an amendment of the Trade Organization Rules 1994 brought about by the BNP-led four party coalition government that was at the helm of state affaires from 2001 to 2006 which provided the government with an opportunity to nominate fourteen unelected persons to the FBCCI board. This was an undemocratic move by any standard. Ironically enough, it was the same party government that framed the long needed Trade Organization Rules 1994 when it was in power at that time.
In view of the above, it is extremely necessary on the part of the government to bring about necessary reforms in the Trade Organization Act and Rules 1994 in order to streamline the trade bodies of the country so that they are able to serve their respective constituents purposefully, encourage ethical business practices in the country and to help the government in taking right economic policy decisions.
The first step to this end should be to scrap the undemocratic provision about nominating fourteen Directors to the FBCCI board by the government.
The Directorate of Trade Organizations (DTO), which is the regulatory authority of the trade bodies, should be made more effective and its capacity should be enhanced significantly to enable it to monitor compliance of existing rules governing the activities of all the trade Organizations. The office of the DTO should be made independent like all other government authorities performing regulatory functions and, to this end, it should be relocated outside the National Secretariat premises in order to make it more accessible to the stakeholders.
Furthermore, the government should extend its all out support to the apex trade body towards its capacity building with a view to making the organisation a much more effective as a mouthpiece of the country's private sector and consider delegating some of the routine functions of the government, such as issuance of trade licence, work permits to expatriates working in various foreign and local enterprises and the like. However, a mechanism could be devised to monitor due diligence on the part of the apex trade body. The sooner such reforms are brought about, the better it would be for the nation and its economy.
The writer is former secretary, Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce & Industry
In Bangladesh, leading TPOs in general and their apex trade body - The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) in particular -- have been advising the government to the said end by way of ventilating the viewpoints of the country's private sector and intense lobbying to the effect from time to time. Some times such efforts succeed in bringing in positive results.
But, at times the efforts ends up in failure due to lack of cohesive approach, conflicting attitudes of various interest groups within the trade bodies and some times because of uncompromising attitude of the government authorities.
Although the FBCCI has so far made significant strides in playing its assigned role, certain quarters feel that it has not been able to live up to the expectations of its constituents because of the above-said reasons. However, some of its powerful constituents like the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI), Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) have been playing significant roles in ventilating the viewpoints of their respective members, while the less powerful ones, mostly located outside the capital city fail to do so because of their location being far away from the seat of the government and the apex trade body. The powerful trade bodies hardly need any assistance from the FBCCI in interacting with government and pursuing their respective agenda.
But, the smaller and weaker members of the apex trade body always look at it for taking up their issues with the government and seeking redress to the effect. Perhaps it will not be impertinent here to say that like most other public and private sector institutions of the country; the apex trade promotion body has also become highly politicised, particularly over the past two decades or so, thereby, giving rise to inefficiency, group rivalry, intrigue and corruption of certain quarters within its constituents. A powerful coterie from within and outside the body controls the organisation including the elections held periodically to elect its office bearers.
The character of the coterie changes with the change of the national government. This has been exacerbated through an amendment of the Trade Organization Rules 1994 brought about by the BNP-led four party coalition government that was at the helm of state affaires from 2001 to 2006 which provided the government with an opportunity to nominate fourteen unelected persons to the FBCCI board. This was an undemocratic move by any standard. Ironically enough, it was the same party government that framed the long needed Trade Organization Rules 1994 when it was in power at that time.
In view of the above, it is extremely necessary on the part of the government to bring about necessary reforms in the Trade Organization Act and Rules 1994 in order to streamline the trade bodies of the country so that they are able to serve their respective constituents purposefully, encourage ethical business practices in the country and to help the government in taking right economic policy decisions.
The first step to this end should be to scrap the undemocratic provision about nominating fourteen Directors to the FBCCI board by the government.
The Directorate of Trade Organizations (DTO), which is the regulatory authority of the trade bodies, should be made more effective and its capacity should be enhanced significantly to enable it to monitor compliance of existing rules governing the activities of all the trade Organizations. The office of the DTO should be made independent like all other government authorities performing regulatory functions and, to this end, it should be relocated outside the National Secretariat premises in order to make it more accessible to the stakeholders.
Furthermore, the government should extend its all out support to the apex trade body towards its capacity building with a view to making the organisation a much more effective as a mouthpiece of the country's private sector and consider delegating some of the routine functions of the government, such as issuance of trade licence, work permits to expatriates working in various foreign and local enterprises and the like. However, a mechanism could be devised to monitor due diligence on the part of the apex trade body. The sooner such reforms are brought about, the better it would be for the nation and its economy.
The writer is former secretary, Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce & Industry