Bangladesh under pressure, not in crisis: Debapriya Bhattacharya

Bangladesh has been under economic pressure, but is yet to face any crisis. If the pressure is not handled properly and an attitude of denial remains there, it will turn into a structural problem. It is an absolute truth, says economist Debapriya Bhattacharya.

He, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), also said that it is imperative to bring the force that believes in the future of Bangladesh into the limelight in order to retain the advancement of the country.

The public policy analyst came up with the statement while addressing a dialogue organised by the Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) in the capital on Tuesday.

Debapriya Bhattacharya noted that the country witnessed a significant rise of inequality throughout the past one and a half decades despite economic development.

Currently, there is no coordination among three key economic variables – inflation, currency exchange rate and interest rate. The government has taken some cost-effective measures to deal with the pressure, but no concerted initiative is noticed yet.

He mentioned the hike in fuel price as the best example for lack of coordination in economic management. The fuel price has been slashed by Tk 5 after a hike of over 40 per cent. Such decisions are made through a ministry without any overall assessment. It is not clear who are taking these decisions and where these are being made – maybe the bureaucrats are making these. It does not seem that the public representatives are involved in the decision-making process.

Hence, the decisions require frequent changing, which denotes lack of coordination among the institutions and their activities. In a similar fashion, all problems take a turn for the worse in Bangladesh due to lack of coordination and efficiency.

Debapriya suggested to move forward, admitting the prevailing economic unrest. He said the insiders who claim the prevailing crisis to be fixed within the next two or three months are not making any useful comments. Rather, it may create a more negative situation in the market and delay economic stability.

The upper crust here has entered the global upper class. They always depend on two options, invest abroad and think about leaving home. It means they do not believe in the future of Bangladesh.

“We would not move forward unless those who believe in the future of Bangladesh are brought into the limelight,” he added.