Main task now is to put economy back on track

The unprecedented bloody encounters between students and government forces of the past weeks that left a trail of devastation and deaths have finally put an end to the more than 15 years long authoritarian rule of Sheikh Hasina with her resignation on Monday, August 5 as the country's prime minister. The event was unique in history. Unique because the mass upsurge that the nation witnessed on that day was not the work of any political force. It was a revolution led by students and the masses. Later, President Mohammed Shahabuddin, in his address to the nation recognised the role of what he termed the'Anti-Discrimination Student Movement' in the political changeover towards creating an interim government through dialogues with all the stakeholders. Following the President's address, the key coordinators of the 'Anti-Discrimination Student Movement', in a video post on the social media in the wee hours of Tuesday announced that Nobel Laureate Dr Mohammad Yunus has accepted their proposal to act as the chief of the proposed interim government. However, it is too early to say definitely about the future course of events as the overall situation of the country is still in a state of flux. Even so, it is believed that the dusts of the breathtaking revolutionary upheaval will finally settle down, stability will return and the wisdom of the people would soon be able to help form an interim arrangement to run the country and hold an early election to form the next government.
Meanwhile, the interim government, as and when formed, will have, among its other imperatives, the urgent task of pulling the economy back from the brink. Most importantly, due to mismanagement, rampant corruption and political cronyism, banking, the heart of the financial sector, was already on the verge of collapse during the immediate past regime. During the disruptive and devastating month of July and the first week of August, the business and the economy took the severest battering ever. In this connection, some noted economists at a talk held recently expressed their deep concern over the highly vulnerable state of the banking sector and emphasised that addressing it early is crucial to overcoming the crisis. In a similar vein, calling for an end to political influence in trade bodies, some of the business leaders have reportedly urged all to help restore a congenial environment for businesses to start their activities as soon possible so they might recover the losses quickly. Admittedly, this is important not only for the domestic audience, but also for the international businesses and development partners to signal that Bangladesh is back in business.
True, beleaguered by persistent inflation hovering at around 10 per cent, a balance of payments deficit and severe financial sector vulnerabilities, the economy cannot wait for an ideal environment to return before these most pressing issues could be effectively dealt with. The proposed interim government should take into confidence the country's eminent economists and financial experts to begin the work of restoring discipline in the financial sector, removing the political interests controlling banking system, effecting urgent monetary reform, setting up a single market-clearing exchange rate regime to improve foreign reserves situation and easing inflationary pressure on the lives of the common citizens.
Healing the scars left on society and the economy by the past regime, thanks to the excesses they committed, will take a long time. But delivering retributive justice cannot be the sole purpose of a revolutionary change. So, the goal should be to get to the root of the hate-and-cult politics, the illiberalism and corruption that it engenders and bring back the dream of a democratic, fair and equitable society the nation fought for during the liberation war.