Negligence over incentive on remittance sad

The expatriate Bangladeshis are a driving force in our economy. The remittance they send, their hard earned pennies, make the foundation of our national financial system. They carry the same green Bangladeshi passport, but is the government doing its duty towards them?

Over 40 years after the liberation war, the expatriates send at least Tk 10.5 trillion home while the actual figure is certainly much bigger. Two per cent cash incentive was announced for remittance in the current fiscal’s budget, but the policy announced by the central bank is still unclear. Many bankers don’t even know about the policy. The expatriates would probably not be deprived and would be paid in arrears, but the insensitivity of our banking sector is palpable. If the banks were proactive and sincere they would not sit idle after the announcement of the Bangladesh Bank policy. They defy rules where they have their own interests, but they cannot even specify a date for giving the incentives even after the gazette was published.

Our policymakers should give any matter related to the expatriates the highest priority. The message that our government acknowledge their role and are grateful to the remittance payers should be spread among the people. This is also an emotional factor. It must be remembered that a big section of our expatriate workers are unskilled or under-skilled. Going abroad for a job is an epic journey for them as they undergo pathetic experience at every stage.

Several reports have narrated their harrowing tales, including crossing the Mediterranean by boat, discovery of mass grave, return of hundreds of workers dead (over 25,000 corpses returned in a decade), and being forced to work in miserable state, but the scenario could not be changed yet. We hope our embassies abroad would do their best to help with the migrants. Many are unhappy with the expatriates as they sometimes lack proper documents.

The government is not unaware of the importance of the Malaysian labour market either. It is the second largest destination for Bangladeshi workers, but no steps have been taken against the 10 unscrupulous recruiting agencies that were responsible for the market once being closed for Bangladesh.

Though we are accustomed to seeing lack of good governance, we hope the government officials concerned will pay due attention to the expatriate workers for our greater interest. It is unacceptable that the government lacks sincerity and is indifferent to the expatriate workers’ cash incentive issue.