My common sense

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AN economist of the standing of a full professor of economics of Dhaka University, who illuminated a state-owned specialised bank as its chairman, was heard spelling out a wonderful formula on a local TV channel about how to resolve the problem about local oil prices. He has opposed the idea of raising domestic prices of petroleum products for adjusting with the soaring international market prices. His formula for resolving the problem of continuously losing money by the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) due to selling various categories of oil at prices below the procurement costs is straight-cut and very simple. He is for transforming the distribution agencies of the BPC, such as the Padma Oils and the Jamuna oils, into public limited companies and then floating their shares for public subscription through the Stock Exchange to raise funds.
The BPC has reportedly lost Tk 1650 million last month due to mismatch between the procurement costs of petroleum products and their domestic sale prices. Its loss in the current month would exceed Tk 2000 million because of the ruling oil price-hike in the world market. We cannot understand how the learned professor's wonderful formula will work. Have we, then, lost common sense? We cannot make out who will buy the shares of the proposed companies and, even if they buy, how the funds raised through sale of those shares will help the loss-incurring BPC unless the money is drained out to plug its deficit.
The reporter of the particular TV channel did not dig to the conclusive depth of the issue to leave me with a clear insight. Straightjacket reporting was meant for pleasing the holy cows -- the newsmakers, during the times of dictatorships and monarchies. It does not fit with the information needs of modern times. Interpretative reporting in media suits the best with democracy. Today's newsmen will have to be statesmen -- ahead of politicians in ideas, perceptions and deductions to help democracy function well, government run well and to help people know what the society needs and where their leaders are flawed.
The US democracy would not have come to the present stage of perfection if journalists like Walter Lippman and James Reston were not around. Nor the British democracy could flourish to its present stage without Lord Reith at the helm of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for long. Son of a churchman, the latter had an engineering degree. With the firm moral mould of a churchman's son and logical and penetrating sharp mind of an engineer, he allowed no British Prime Minister and other political leaders -- in power and in opposition -- of his time to walk away after presenting rubbish ideas in the glittering wordy packages of theories. He put their views under the microscope and dissected them points by points to let the people know about their genuineness or hollowness.
Someone of the local media should talk to the said professor in details to X-ray his wonderful but simplistic formula in order to expose its workability. Let us learn to look before we leap.
Dr. Arif
Dhanmondi
Dhaka