The White Paper on Bangladesh’s economy revealed that the Awami League government had portrayed an artificially optimistic view of the economy, rather than reflecting the true situation.
Head of the White Paper Committee Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya made these remarks after presenting the White Paper to the Chief Adviser, Dr Muhammad Yunus, on Sunday.
A prominent economist, Dr Debapriya also criticised foreign
donors for endorsing the government’s allegedly inflated economic projections, questioning the diligence of the international community.
“Democratic accountability was neglected during the Awami League’s tenure.
We regard the last three elections held under their governance as the starting point of this decline. A centralised autocratic system emerged, impeding our development journey due to the convergence of politicians, businessmen, and bureaucrats,” he asserted.
Dr Debapriya explained that the White Paper highlights the country’s structural problems across 30 chapters.
“We have discussed the need for institutional reforms. Our findings indicate that the issues the interim government identified upon taking office were far more profound than initially perceived,” he noted.
