Self-reliance the way for curbing graft

Curbing corruption and establishing good governance in the country would not be possible only depending on foreign aid, if the countrymen would not come forward to solve the problems, said noted economist Debapriya Bhattacharya yesterday.
“Without creating awareness among the people to be self-reliant for solving their own problems, nothing can be achieved by foreign aid with conditions,” said Debapriya, the distinguished fellow of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).
He made the remark while addressing a discussion on “Re-directive Development and Rio+20: Progress of Bangladesh” organised by Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan (Bapa) and three others NGOs at the Bangabndhu International Conference Center in the city.
Debapriya said the Europeans took the idea of green economy as a remedy to revive their economy from the existing recession.
But sustainable development would not be possible without the change of consumption patterns in the developed countries, he said.
In the name of environmental safety, the green economy rhetoric could be a barrier to export of Bangladeshi products, he added.
Awami League lawmaker Junaid Ahmed Palok, Dr Atiq Rahman, Prof Mahbuba Nasrin of Dhaka University, and Advocate Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of the Bela, also spoke.