Good governance, transparency, democracy must for stable growth: seminar

Speakers at a seminar on Saturday stressed the need for good governance, transparency in public spending, proper utilisation of the budgetary resources and the presence of a government elected in acceptable polls for sustainable economic growth as well as stability.

Taking part in the seminar titled ‘Economic Woes and Government Challenges’ in the capital, they said that the readymade garments exporters and few other groups were benefitting from the budgetary allocations and the jobless economic growth amid the widening inequality.

They mentioned lack of transparency in the spending of many public funds, saying that no audit was done on the Prime Minister’s relief fund and no elaboration was given on the defence allocation in the proposed budget announced by businessman-turned-politician AHM Mustafa Kamal.     

They also criticised the present government for its failure to ensure fair price of paddy and good governance in the country’s banking sector.

They held government agencies responsible for failing to check the high growth of defaulted loans and for providing questionable data on vital economic indicators.

Orgnised by the Centre for Governance Studies, Rashed Al Ttumir, a teacher of the department of development studies at Dhaka University, presented the keynote speech in which he resented that there was no proper focus in the budget on the pressing national issues like poverty, unemployment, inequality, education and health.

He noted that an overall progress of the country would face a stumbling block if the present trends of indiscipline in the financial sector and centralisation of power against the backdrop of disruption in the political participation by public continued.

M Ataur Rahman, chairman of the CGS and also president of the Bangladesh Political Science Association, chaired the five-hour long seminar.       

Planning minister MA Mannan claimed at the seminar that the present government was successful in establishing stability as it took calculative risks by undertaking mega projects, compared to the ‘inactive previous political regime’.

He further claimed that people were with the present government while the new generation was convinced that such projects like Padma Mulitipurpose Bridge, Rooppur Nucelar Power Plant, Karnaphuli Tunnel would generate dividends.

He admitted problems in the country’s financial sector, but ruled out any possibility of a complete collapse of the country’s banking sector.

‘No bank cheque is bounced back,’ he boasted.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, who took part in the discussion as the last speaker, was quick to counter the minister’s claim, saying that the situation was so pathetic that even many banks could not keep their commitments to fellow banks due to liquidity crunch.

‘A growing number of local banks are not accepted as corresponding banks by overseas banks,’ he added.

Censuring  Mannan’s claim on popularity, Amir Khasru said that even he (Mannan) knew that the present government was not elected through an acceptable election.

Amir Khasru, also a former commerce minister, raised a question about the ‘mega quality’ of the mega projects as those were being implemented at at least three times the original costs.

Former caretaker government adviser M Hafizuddin Khan, economist Selim Jahan, former Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury, former National Board of Revenue chairman Abdul Majid, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies fellow Nazneen Ahmed, JANIPOP chairman Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah and former Asian Development Bank lead economist Muhammad Parvez Emdad spoke at the event.

Others who took part in the seminar were architect Mubasshar Hussain, CGS vice chairman Manjur Ahmed Chowdhury, Leadership Studies Foundation chairman Sinha MA Sayeed, senior journalist Zahiduzzaman Faruque, former BNP MPs Sardar Sakhawat Husain Bakul and Syeda Ashifa Papri, Bangladesh Jubo Mohila League president and former MP Nazma Akhter and East West University teacher Parvez Karim Abbasi.

Hafizuddin Khan pointed out that no audit was done on the Prime Ministers’ relief fund while the Financial Institutions Division, not the Bangladesh Bank, was ruling over the banking sector, which he said was disappointing.

He was also disappointed when the private bank owners association dictated the policy makers while working out the changes in the Bank Company Act and the cash reserve ratio, he said.

Zahiduzzaman Faruque viewed that allowing the Bangladesh Bank to exercise its rules and regulations without hindrances would be more meaningful than appointing a commission on the ailing banking sector.   

Economist Selim Jahan, also formerly a director at UNDP’s Human Development Report Department, said that data provided by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics is questionable.

It is high time, he said, to settle on whether the nation needed qualitative growth creating employment opportunities, checking inequality or the present trend of growth, which was also heavily criticised for environmental damages.

Former NBR chairman Abdul Majid found the increased cash incentives proposed in the budget for the RMG sector beneficial for foreign workers as highly paid executives from countries like India and Sri Lanka remitted over five billion dollar annually from Bangladesh. 

Architect Mubasshar Hussain said that it was very sad that there was no elaboration of the defence allocation in the budget, let alone how it was spent.

BIDS fellow Nazneen Ahmed doubted that whether the Tk 100 crore fund earmarked in the budget for development of new entrepreneurs would be spent, referring to the unspent allocation of almost the same amount for women entrepreneurs a few years ago.

Former BGMEA president Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury said that he found lack of coordination among the government policymakers since they imposed duty on capital machinery and duty on raw materials, which would hamper the much-needed industrialisation.

Sardar Sakhawat Husain Bakul said that the country would not achieve stability under a ‘tyrannical and dictatorial regime’.

Syeda Ashifa Papri said that people had the right to access to accurate data while making criticisms of growth projected by the current government.

Nazma Akhter said that the keynote speaker portrayed a ‘dull Bangladesh’ in his presentation while many positive news stories received by the countrymen were coming from foreigners outside.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net