Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is making contradictory statements on the country’s economic condition that are very confusing for the people, to say the least. For quite some time she was telling people that they should be prepared for a prospective famine in the near future. In reality, even now many of the poor people are passing hungry nights as there is less work available but prices of everyday essentials have touched the ceiling already.
To avert the current reserves crisis, about several months ago she herself introduced measures of austerity among the government offices when she restricted foreign visits of the officials. The reserves crunch has forced the government to introduce planned load-shedding also, and a few months ago, when the temperature was hotter, people bore as many as 12 hours load shedding in a day. Her energy adviser even warned that the government may need to stop giving people day-time electricity altogether as the government has no money to buy fuel oil.
Due to the power crisis, industrial production in many factories including the RMG has reportedly now come down to half. To avert a disaster of getting ‘bankrupt’ nationally, the government approached the IMF for a loan package of $ 4.5 billion which, after periods of negotiation, the lending organisation has not finally raised the hope of granting. Many conditions have to be met, hidden lies of the government be clarified before the IMF board approves the loan promised. The board wants to ensure that the fund is not abused, and accordingly, it wants to tie the government’s hands in many ways. The loan burden will be borne by younger generation of today. The IMF has to keep that in mind. The money stolen by the government recklessly should be asked to be returned.
The prime minister blasted at the Jubo League’s Friday’s council in the capital that she relied on them to take responsibility for building Bangladesh meaning saving the government with their muscle power. The question is if the members of Jubo League are used, then the country will be in the hands of extortionists and political goons, not in the hands of honest and educated leaders. They have harmed the government up to village levels. The unemployed ones were not given decent jobs. Their good future is destroyed by using the dangerous elements. The truth is present government did not value education and depended on uneducated dishonest people.
The present government has broken the system of government and corrupted every aspect of government to make it anti-people at the advice of the few favoured unscrupulous bureaucrats.
This government is not a people’s government, now the people have risen to snatch back their power of ownership of the country. The sensible thing to do for the government is go peacefully and then prove that it can come to power with the people’s vote.
