GDP growth and economy
Friday, 28 December 2007
THE Bangladesh Bank last week revised GDP growth target from seven per cent to 6.2-6.5 per cent for the current fiscal. The central bank governor Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed said the country's economy was badly affected by twin spells of flooding and cyclone Sidr.
One must agree with the governor that the economy has taken major blows during this fiscal year because of the floods and the devastating cyclone. As hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes and livelihoods as a result of natural disasters and crops on thousands of hectares of agricultural land were destroyed, it is natural that the national economy experienced the hardest time. The economic slowdown that Bangladesh is experiencing cannot be blamed on natural disasters only. Rising price of oil in the global market is another reason, as the governor also said.
However many experts say that the economy is also stagnating because of the government's own actions. Due to the large scale anti-corruption drive, not only the major business houses and their owners but also the small traders have become worried.
The economy is also being hurt by the pervasive sense of fear among different sections of people. This abnormal situation and lack of certainty regarding the country's political future are naturally discouraging investment and other economic activities. Therefore, in order to put the country's economy back on track and achieve higher GDP growth rates, the government must focus on providing necessary support to the agriculture sector, ensure that businesses and business confidence are not hurt even when an anti-corruption drive is on. The government should give real message to the local and foreign investors that there would be normalcy soon and their investments would be secured in the long run.
K M Harun
Dhanmandi , Dhaka
One must agree with the governor that the economy has taken major blows during this fiscal year because of the floods and the devastating cyclone. As hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes and livelihoods as a result of natural disasters and crops on thousands of hectares of agricultural land were destroyed, it is natural that the national economy experienced the hardest time. The economic slowdown that Bangladesh is experiencing cannot be blamed on natural disasters only. Rising price of oil in the global market is another reason, as the governor also said.
However many experts say that the economy is also stagnating because of the government's own actions. Due to the large scale anti-corruption drive, not only the major business houses and their owners but also the small traders have become worried.
The economy is also being hurt by the pervasive sense of fear among different sections of people. This abnormal situation and lack of certainty regarding the country's political future are naturally discouraging investment and other economic activities. Therefore, in order to put the country's economy back on track and achieve higher GDP growth rates, the government must focus on providing necessary support to the agriculture sector, ensure that businesses and business confidence are not hurt even when an anti-corruption drive is on. The government should give real message to the local and foreign investors that there would be normalcy soon and their investments would be secured in the long run.
K M Harun
Dhanmandi , Dhaka