BNP fears grave economic crisis ahead

Terming the countrywide load shedding an early sign of a grave economic crisis, BNP general secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday said the government will now find it very difficult to overcome the crisis and prevent its fall, report news agency UNB.

“The economists are saying problems are emerging in every sector. The government will now be at a loss for what to do. People are fuming and they’ll burst with anger, hastening the fall of the government,” he said.

Speaking at a press conference at BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office, Fakhrul also said the government has given around $7.5 to the export development fund from the reserves to abet those who are doing business in different countries.

“They siphoned off the money abroad and built houses there. So, that money is not returning to the country anymore. This is the beginning of the crisis.”

He feared that the country’s economy will be hit hard by the frequent power outages as production in RMG and other sectors will be hampered by it.

“The economy of Bangladesh mainly depends on the garment industry. When there is a shortage of power and energy supply in that sector, problems will arise regarding the production and transportation,” the BNP leader observed.

Mentioning that fuel oil and electricity are deeply intertwined with the economy, he said when the rationing system is introduced in power distribution, there will be a considerable possibility of reduction in production.

“The economists are saying that this (load shedding) is a temporary measure. They (govt) have to take steps toward a permanent solution to the problem. But they’re not going in that direction. They are not raising prices (of power) further in fear of facing public wrath as the prices have already been increased. But the economy is suffering tremendously,” the BNP leader viewed.

He said the government will have to now pay the power plants that are not generating electricity due to the fuel crisis. “In that case, a large part of the money will be spent and in most cases, these payments are made in dollars. These problems have been created due to rampant corruption and for lack of the government's plans. Their only goal is to indulge in corruption everywhere.”

The BNP leader said the government paid about Tk 780 billion to the power plants that did not generate any electricity. “It is now being said that the six diesel-run power plants will remain closed, but those and other plants will continue to get money. I saw in the newspaper that Tk 17.6 billion will have to be spent for them annually. It’s now proved that they (govt) did it to create a scope for special companies to make money and thus they themselves benefited from it.”

He warned that the government will be held accountable to the people someday for plundering public money by paying the power plant owners without producing electricity.

Apart from the power sector, the BNP leader said the government is cutting money from people’s pockets in various ways in the name of mega projects. “The biggest problem now in Bangladesh is the lack of good governance and accountability everywhere. So, corruption is the main cause behind the crisis that has now arisen.”

Fakhrul said the government should not undertake any plan or project which will be a burden on the country. ”If we buy oversized shoes we cannot wear them. That is exactly what’s happening now in the country, but people have to pay for it.”

The BNP general secretary further said, the experts are warning that a situation like Sri Lanka may arise in seven other countries, including Bangladesh.

At the press conference, Fakhrul also came up with the decisions made at a virtual meeting of their party’s standing committee on Monday.

He said their meeting strongly condemned the recent attacks on the Hindu community members and on their houses and temples in Narail.

It also formed a three-member investigation committee, headed by party vice chairman Advocate Nitai Roy Chowdhury, to look into the incident, the BNP leader said.

He said the probe body has been asked to submit the report by 26 July.

Fakhrul said their standing committee meeting voiced concern over the crash of a cargo plane carrying arms from Serbia for Bangladesh on 16 July.

He said the meeting expressed wonder at the contradictory statements by the ISPR. “The statement of the Serbian defense minister and the statement of the ISPR are not consistent, causing confusion among people.”

The BNP policymakers urged the government to make the real information in this regard public.

Besides, the meeting denounced the government’s move to increase the price of WASA’s water and 53 medicines.

Referring to different comments of chief election commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal, Fakhrul said,”He (CEC) has now become a laughing stock.”

He said it has been proven over the last 10 years that a fair and credible election is not possible under Awami League and any partisan government. “The government must restore the caretaker government system for ensuring an acceptable election.”