Economic problems need attention: What are the people thinking?

It cannot be claimed with certainty that a public opinion poll will reveal the correct picture of the country. No survey is 100 per cent accurate. However, the thoughts and opinions of the respondents, meaning the public, can be predicted from a survey to a great extant.

What’s more important is that, it gives the government or the concerned authorities a proper idea in adopting policies and plans as well as the effectiveness and results of these.

The results of the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) pulse survey phase 2 are significant for policy makers of the government, we believe. The title of the survey was ‘Post-Uprising Bangladesh: What are people thinking’.

This is the second survey done by BIGD while the first one was carried out in August. Though the survey addressed several issues including elections, new parties, efficiency of the interim government, women’s safety, the law and order situation, etc. the issue of economy was prioritised.

One of the notable questions in the survey was, “What is the country's biggest problem now?” In response, 67 per cent of the people talked about the economic crisis (price hike, economic or business downturn). As much as 9 per cent of the respondents mentioned political unrest and intolerance, 4 per cent of them spoke of deterioration of law and order, 3 per cent voted for lack of democracy and 2 per cent talked about lack of safety.

From the survey results, we can realise that people are not as much worried about the law and order situation as they are about the prices of daily commodities. It doesn’t seem the government has any control over the market.

Economist Debapriya Bhattacharya said that if the government fails to provide economic relief and to improve law and order situation, the public will lose patience. Finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed has blamed the price hike on extortion. No matter if it’s extortion or stockpiling behind the price hike of daily essentials, it is the government that has to take action.

Chief adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus while addressing the nation talked about launching an alternative agricultural market. However, how that will happen and how long that will take is a concern as well. People will get some relief if the government increases the supply of essentials at discounted prices through TCB until there’s an alternative market.

In response to the question, “Considering the economic situation of last month, do you think Bangladesh is going in the right direction, or in the wrong direction?” 43 per cent people said that the country is going on the right direction. Meanwhile, 52 per cent of the people think the country is moving on the wrong direction.  

On the same question during the first survey carried out by BIGD in last August, 60 per cent of the people had said that the country was going in the right direction, while 27 per cent said it was going in the wrong direction.

This means people’s trust in the government is declining. The people will grow even more frustrated if the law and order situation does not improve or the prices of daily necessities do not come down.

Though the BIGD survey has been revealed now, it was carried out in September. The prices of daily commodities have soared even higher in the last two months.

People from all walks of life do support the commissions the government has formed to reform the constitution, election commission, anti-corruption commission and so on. However, the government must keep in mind that no reform will come to any use if the market cannot be brought under control.

The support of the public is a great source of strength for this government, which came to power through the student-people uprising. If that very source becomes unstable, then their moral stance will grow feeble as well.