The New Year 2008
Tuesday, 1 January 2008
Welcome the New Year 2008. The nation joins with the rest of the world in celebrating the New Year with a hope that the problems bedevilling its life and living will be over and a new era of peace and prosperity will dawn for it. The occasion is also a befitting for the nation to look in retrospect the events and developments in the immediate past year that have a strong bearing on both its present and future.
The year 2007 was an eventful year for Bangladesh. When the nation was gripped by political uncertainty and fearing something catastrophic to happen following the mindless show of muscle power on the streets by two major contenders for state power at the fag end of the year 2006, the President transferred power to a new caretaker government headed by Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed and proclaimed the state of emergency. The entire nation tired of political turmoil heaved a sigh of relief and welcomed measures undertaken by the new administration to improve law and order, punish corrupt elements and reform some important national institutions, including the Election Commission, the Anti-corruption Commission and the Public Service Commission. The people in general were equally happy when the interim government made strong pledge to prepare new electoral roll and hold general election by 2008.
The interim administration having backed by the armed forces initiated actions against corrupt politicians, businessmen and high government officials and a good number of them were sent to jail. Some of them were given prison sentences on varying terms. The government with iron hand dismantled unauthorised structures in cities and towns and along roads and highways and evicted hawkers from pavements. But it discontinued the drive following its adverse impact on the economy and employment. The drive against graft and tax evasion left a few unsettling effect on business activities and there was serious erosion in business confidence. However, the government slowed down its actions to some extent and formed the Bangladesh Better Business Forum to ensure better interactions between the public and the private sectors. Responding to suggestions from the trade bodies, the interim administration also formed the Regulatory Reforms Commission to do away with the outdated and cumbersome business-related laws and regulations and make the process of doing business easy and hassle-free.
The investment, both local and foreign, slowed down compared to that of the previous year and the banks had substantial amount of excess liquidity. The forex reserve was stable throughout the year, thanks to higher flow of remittance by the Bangladeshi expatriate workers. The export particularly that of the readymade garments recorded slight decline in the middle part of the year, but it regained momentum in the final months. Two consecutive floods in the months between July and September and a severe cyclone in November affected lives of millions across the country and dealt a severe blow to the economy, which is expected now to grow less than the original projection of 7.0 per cent in the current fiscal year. The main sore point of the economy in the last calendar year had been the price situation. The people never had in the past such an unabated hike the prices of essentials, mainly food items. The fear of further hike in prices is still looming large. Such an abnormal rise is attributed to continuous increase in the prices of food items and fuel oil in the international market and disruption in supply of the same in the local market. There is no denying that the people, particularly the poor and the middle class, are hard hit by the price-spiral. They are not in a position to bear with it anymore. What they would expect from the government at the dawn of the New Year are some immediate remedial measures. The people are also eagerly awaiting the return of democracy and expect that they would be able to elect an honest and competent government before the expiry of the new year.
The year 2007 was an eventful year for Bangladesh. When the nation was gripped by political uncertainty and fearing something catastrophic to happen following the mindless show of muscle power on the streets by two major contenders for state power at the fag end of the year 2006, the President transferred power to a new caretaker government headed by Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed and proclaimed the state of emergency. The entire nation tired of political turmoil heaved a sigh of relief and welcomed measures undertaken by the new administration to improve law and order, punish corrupt elements and reform some important national institutions, including the Election Commission, the Anti-corruption Commission and the Public Service Commission. The people in general were equally happy when the interim government made strong pledge to prepare new electoral roll and hold general election by 2008.
The interim administration having backed by the armed forces initiated actions against corrupt politicians, businessmen and high government officials and a good number of them were sent to jail. Some of them were given prison sentences on varying terms. The government with iron hand dismantled unauthorised structures in cities and towns and along roads and highways and evicted hawkers from pavements. But it discontinued the drive following its adverse impact on the economy and employment. The drive against graft and tax evasion left a few unsettling effect on business activities and there was serious erosion in business confidence. However, the government slowed down its actions to some extent and formed the Bangladesh Better Business Forum to ensure better interactions between the public and the private sectors. Responding to suggestions from the trade bodies, the interim administration also formed the Regulatory Reforms Commission to do away with the outdated and cumbersome business-related laws and regulations and make the process of doing business easy and hassle-free.
The investment, both local and foreign, slowed down compared to that of the previous year and the banks had substantial amount of excess liquidity. The forex reserve was stable throughout the year, thanks to higher flow of remittance by the Bangladeshi expatriate workers. The export particularly that of the readymade garments recorded slight decline in the middle part of the year, but it regained momentum in the final months. Two consecutive floods in the months between July and September and a severe cyclone in November affected lives of millions across the country and dealt a severe blow to the economy, which is expected now to grow less than the original projection of 7.0 per cent in the current fiscal year. The main sore point of the economy in the last calendar year had been the price situation. The people never had in the past such an unabated hike the prices of essentials, mainly food items. The fear of further hike in prices is still looming large. Such an abnormal rise is attributed to continuous increase in the prices of food items and fuel oil in the international market and disruption in supply of the same in the local market. There is no denying that the people, particularly the poor and the middle class, are hard hit by the price-spiral. They are not in a position to bear with it anymore. What they would expect from the government at the dawn of the New Year are some immediate remedial measures. The people are also eagerly awaiting the return of democracy and expect that they would be able to elect an honest and competent government before the expiry of the new year.