Government needs to be vigilant in implementing commitments
Syed Faruk Hossain :
Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of the new government of Bangladesh, under the leadership of Awami League for the fifth time. The people have believed in Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Valuing this belief is quite a challenge. The improvement of the regime and their fortunes in the past years have given rise to the belief among the people that this government can change their fortunes.
At present the global context is becoming more and more complex. Decreasing reserves and supply of foreign currency, along with continued devaluation of the currency, have intensified the downward pressure on the economy. Global crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic, instability in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine as well as the climate change crisis have further complicated this situation. And the biggest victims are low and middle income countries.
The new government has assumed power at such a critical time when the economy of the world and the country is going through various crises. At present, conditions for increasing reserves must be created to deal with this difficult situation. That is why the wheels of the economy should be kept moving. Short-term, medium-term, long-term reforms of the economy will be needed and more attention should be paid to them. Besides, one of the big challenges for the government is to retain the bank reserves in Bangladesh and bring them back to the previous position. Stop expatriate income from entering the country through hundi and bring it to the country through proper channels and maintain the value of the country’s money.
In the 21st century, foreign debt has become the biggest challenge for the economy of many countries in the world. As hard as it is to get, tougher interest rates or other repayment terms are even more challenging. Reserves are the driving force of any country’s economy. If the reserves increase, the confidence of foreigners increases. The economy also dares to turn around. But many of the crises that started in 2022 have deepened in 2023. One of the reasons for this is high inflation. Most of the people are under the pressure of inflation. But the impact is mostly on the middle class, lower middle class and lower class.
The country’s economy is now going through a transitional period. All indicators are deteriorating. But its impact did not fall equally on all people. The Awami League government under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina started its journey for the fifth time with the challenge of bringing the price of goods within the purchasing power of the people by preventing the unlimited increase in the price of goods, making the risky economy self-reliant and bringing the unemployed poor people into the mainstream of the society.
In order to survive in the global competition in the era of the fourth industrial revolution, it is a big challenge for the party to build a ‘Smart Bangladesh’ with the four pillars of ‘Smart Citizen’, ‘Smart Government’, ‘Smart Economy’ and ‘Smart Society’. Although the information technology sector has improved greatly, the problem of unemployment is still evident in our country. Making everyone tech-savvy is a huge challenge. A grand plan to create new opportunities and create new entrepreneurs should be undertaken.
Besides, the private sector should be encouraged Credit provision for self-employment of employable trained youth should be expanded. Import and export trade should be balanced, which will reduce uncertainty in the supply of foreign exchange. Strict laws should be enforced to recover defaulted loans. Effective action should be taken against money launderers. Bribery and corruption at all levels of the state and society should be eradicated, unearned income should be prevented, debt-tax-evasion and corruption should be punished through the judicial system and their illegal money and property should be confiscated. One of the conditions of development is electricity.
Along with this, a multifaceted plan should be adopted for power generation from renewable sources. Necessary infrastructure should be planned and developed including setting up mills. This country belongs to ordinary working people. Therefore, if their quality of life is improved, the real development picture of the country will emerge.
Rule of law, fundamental human rights, political, economic and social equality, freedom and justice must be ensured. A new Bangladesh stands before us. Metrorail, Padma Setu, Bangabandhu Tunnel and numerous bridges and culverts across the country which have radically changed the communication system of the country. The people of this country have witnessed the development which was once a dream for people.
Apart from preserving the independence and dignity of the judiciary, continuing the measures to ensure the independence and functioning of the National Human Rights Commission is also the most difficult challenge of the present time. Citizen-centric, transparent, accountable, knowledge-based, welfare-oriented, integrated efficient smart administration, if the promise of providing better and quality services to the people and establishing good governance can be kept, the people will always cooperate with the government.
Various credit forecasting agencies in the world are now downgrading the country’s credit rating, many reforms must be prepared. In addition to the internal challenges of the country, the external economy is also challenging. How to increase remittances, how to accelerate exports should be taken up to date with smart initiatives. We need to bring our financial accounts into positive flow. If the base of the country’s own economy is strong, it will be able to deal with any international pressure.
Legal measures should also be taken to preserve fair treatment of women workers abroad. In order to protect the interests of minorities, formation of National Commission for Minorities and formulation of laws for the special protection of minorities, necessary steps should be taken to ensure the security of livelihood of minorities, minorities and backward communities. No matter what the Awami Lewague declares or promises in the election manifesto, what the people of all levels of the country want from the government is to bring the price of goods within the purchasable range. After food, another basic human need is medical care. This treatment is also very expensive now.
In particular, the price of medicines has almost doubled. Almost everything is the same. People don’t want to see this situation anymore. The victims think that the new government will fulfill the hopes of the people by reducing the prices of goods and bringing them back to the previous position. Trade syndicates should be broken and commodity prices should be brought back to normal.
Citizens seem it as a big challenge to the government. The government should take all kinds of preparations with utmost importance to maintain food security in the future by facing various challenges. In order to make food security sustainable by facing various challenges including increasing population growth, reduction of agricultural land, climate change, the agro-food system must be transformed and adapted to the times.
A great disparity has been created. This disparity has increased dramatically in the last one-and-a-half decades. The rich are getting richer day by day. Gradually, the middle class is becoming the lower class, the poor are becoming extremely poor. The new government should pay special attention to this problem. Now it is necessary to bring a major change in the development strategy.
This government has shown its economic capability by starting the largest projects in the history of the country, starting from the country’s roads, highways, flyways, metro rail, power plants, LNG terminals and the Padma Bridge. The aim of this government is to build a non-communal Bangladesh in the spirit of the liberation war by suppressing militancy, terrorism, corruption and anti-national conspiracies with a strong hand like in the past after winning the national elections.
(Writer: Registrar, Bangmata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib University of Science and Technology, Jamalpur.)
