Democratic legitimacy needs financial cooperation

NEWS reports revealed that foreign aid to Bangladesh in terms of loan and grants faced a fatal blow after the controversial unilateral election of 5th January. Experts view the decline in commitment for the foreign loans and grants which is 46.56 per cent lower in the first nine months of the current fiscal year than that of the previous FY because of the unrest in the run up to the elections and ongoing political uncertainties.Latest data of the Economic Relations Division showed that the total commitment came down to $2,903.89 million in July-March of FY 2013-14 which was $5,433 million in the same period of the previous year. Of the total commitment in the nine months of the FY14, $444.19 million was in grants and $2,459.70 million was in loans, the ERD data showed. In the same period of the FY13, $567.73 million was in grants and $4,865.94 million in loans. Development partners disbursed $2,171.41 million during July-March period whereas the amount totaled $1,908.61 million during the same period a year before.Apparently donors are still uncertain about the fate of the political situation in the country in the coming months as the alliance of opposition parties did not recognize the controversial January 5 elections and the political impasse is not yet resolved. It is evident that development partners were mostly continuing the funding of existing projects and were somewhat reluctant to give funds for new projects. Moreover, ERD officials alluded that the government is not confident in reviving loan negotiations with the development partners and lenders as many of them avoided Bangladesh during the recent political unrest.This situation is a nightmare when it comes to implementing Annual Development Programs (ADPs). Bangladesh’s ADP still heavily draws on help from donors. Clearly, the foreign backers of government, which are numbered by the way, are not of any use in this regard. It was just two days ago the US openly and categorically said that Bangladesh’s foreign policy is heavily influenced by India. This is a clear indication of US policy towards the matter. So the only way forward is to convince and assure the donors by committing a real democratic transition at home.