Political calm is not sure for economy

VARIOUS news reports published in local dailies have come to the conclusion that the government is up for the difficult task of helping the nation recover from economic damages sustained from the recent political unrest. According to a leading chamber, the government would have to restore growth momentum, rebuild the confidence of businesses and investors after the recent months of political instability and heal the economy. Many things will depend on how quickly the prevailing political stalemate can be resolved through dialogues among the fending political parties, the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in a statement whilst reviewing the economic situation in Bangladesh between October and December last year, according to reports. In addition it also said that if the relevant political parties cannot be brought into confidence, the existing calm would only be momentary as conflict may arise again. Even though the chamber said that the economic and social sectors performed considerably well in the past few years, everything is in peril due to the recent political instability. As per the reports, the 2nd quarter of the current fiscal year saw the performance of the industrial sector get lower than that of the same period of the previous year. The reports also mentioned that the MCCI held political instability, low disbursement of industrial term loans, slow growth in the settlement of import letters of credit, an abrupt decline in the private sector credit growth and infrastructural bottlenecks responsible for the economy’s current predicament. The reports also added that due to the frequency of countrywide shutdowns and blockades, the production and supply chain in most of the manufacturing industries broke down, access to raw materials were disrupted along with the infrastructure of roads, highways, bridges and railways had being damaged considerably. With many entrepreneurs and manufacturers putting a hold on fresh investments and expansion plans, employment in the private sector took a hard hit as well. In order to remedy the situation, the chamber recommended the government to prioritize its expenditures by focusing on high priority projects instead of newer or more expensive ones according to reports. The reports also added that the ideal course of action would be for the government to develop educational and skills development programmes along with improving necessary physical infrastructure, electricity generation, industrial sector investment promotion as well as support agriculture. Strict regulations to govern the recurrence of banking sector frauds, loan recovery schemes and policy support for businesses were also part of the recommendations given by the leading chamber according to reports. As per reports, the MCCI also emphasized on regaining trade privileges to the US and avoiding the risk of losing those privileges from the EU by properly considering the compliance issues. Nowhere economic growth depends on the few favourities. The country’s situation is too uncertain and the government is pursuing an isolationist policy not good for the country’s economy. The recently held election has caused concern within and outside the country. So too much talk and too much loud hope will not take us anywhere.