Depoliticise chambers for fair deals, urge businesses

A business meet Wednesday urged a purge in Bangladesh's trade-promotions organisations, including the apex chamber, to ensure fair trade and commerce in a political interference-free ambiance.
Saying that the chambers and associations are now politicized, business leaders at the post-upsurge gathering demanded immediate resignation of board members from key trade bodies like FBCCI, BGMEA and BKMEA.
They also demanded removal of the incumbent government-nominated directors from the chambers.
They raised their voice against the "oligarchs" and for plugging the holes so oligarchy cannot surface again in the future.
The meet demanded publishing white paper exposing those who looted money from financial institutions.
They were speaking at the business summit organised by 'Bebosayee Somaj (Business Community)' at a city hotel.
President of the International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh (ICC,B) Mahbubur Rahman presided over the meeting while former president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Abdul Awal Mintoo delivered welcome address.
Former FBCCI presidents Mir Nasir Hossain, AK Azad and Md Jashim Uddin and managing director of Square Pharmaceuticals Tapan Chowdhury and Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Ashraf Ahmed spoke, among others, at the event.
The ICC, B president, Mr. Mahbubur Rahman, said they would organise a review meeting shortly to place recommendations to the interim government for streamlining trade and business in the changed context.
"We will prefer written speeches from the business leaders for placing those with the interim government," Mr Rahman said.
He noted that law order still remained out of the grips, and some recent acts of arson stand as examples.
The ICC,B chief feels that there is a conspiracy to destabilize the interim government, installed through a student-people uprising.
"The conspiracy, to my mind, is hatched so that the interim government cannot be successful."
He was, however, critical of takeover of charges of some associations by (some ones).
"We want institutional reforms-we are here, and if necessary, we will hire experts."
Turing to the macroeconomic situation, Mr. Rahman said inflation remained high and the common people are the worst victim of the price surges.
Also, he added, each businessman feels the pains of lower foreign-exchange reserves.
While delivering welcome address, Mr. Abdul Awal Mintoo said the chambers and associations should act as pressure group to realise their demands in the interest of fellow members.
He made a strong plea that those who cannot perform their due responsibilities should resign.
Mr Mintoo, also a BNP leader, said the country is now beset with tremendous political problems and it needs democracy to get over.
"Economy and democracy are complementary to each other. There are few examples where economy has improved without democracy."
He urged the stand-in government to ensure democracy after conducting some reforms.
He listed a slew of problems, and said food inflation is over 16 per cent and the poor people, day labourers, or rickshaw-pullers who consume 70-75 per cent of their earnings are the worst victims of such higher inflation on the economy. He deplored that some people became neo-rich without creating assets.
At the outset of the event, the businessmen observed a one-minute silence condoling on the recent deaths in the student-people movement.

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