Govt policies promote graft in banking sector
The condition of the banking sector in Bangladesh has turned fragile, and policies and rules are framed in a way that promotes corruption, said analysts yesterday.
"Policy measures are being taken in the banking sector to promote corruption," said Hossain Zillur Rahman, a former adviser to a caretaker government.
The views came at a seminar on Bangladesh's politics and economy, organised by The Dhaka Forum at the BRAC Centre Inn in Dhaka. Salehuddin Ahmed, a former governor of the Bangladesh Bank, moderated the discussion.
Hossain Zillur said an analysis of how politics and the economy fared in the last 15 years is needed.
Development programmes have now become loan-dependent and the cost is increasing because of high inefficiency. The third is the deterioration of accountability as a whole, he said.
"There is also a lack of accountability."
Hossain Zillur said a new reality has emerged in politics. The ruling class gives priority to development over democracy. Some say that development has taken place despite the prevalence of corruption. Power has become centralised, he added.
According to the economist, it has become necessary to discuss the effect of inefficient economic governance.
"In my opinion, Bangladesh is being directed towards a future that is unacceptable and unethical and goes against the spirit of the Liberation War."
Debapriya Bhattacharya, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said the economy has been passing through a difficult phase.
"We earlier mentioned that the main challenge was to ensure economic stability and contain inflation. Two more problems have surfaced now. One is the risk of debt repayment, and the other is the slowdown of the economy."
"The lack of accountability is the main reason behind the current situation. The bad influence of individuals, families, and groups has increased too much."
Unfortunately, there is no accountability in politics, said Debapriya.
Nobody disagrees with the criticism put forward by the opposition political parties. However, they don't give the impression of how they will solve the problems facing the economy, he said.
"We have fallen into a situation where there is an absence of democracy. The opposition parties say they will oust the government, but they do not say what they would do afterwards."
He said the opposition parties have boycotted the general elections, and they are not participating in the local elections either.
He questioned in what form the opposition parties would operate if they remained disconnected from people. People will not take to the streets unless they see better alternatives, he said.
Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of the Transparency International Bangladesh, said institutions were made ineffective in a way that could not be fixed even in 53 years.
Taking part in the discussion virtually, Ali Riaz, a distinguished professor for political science at Illinois State University, said three staged elections were held in Bangladesh, and institutions have been destroyed gradually.
Ali Imam Majumder, a former cabinet secretary, said there were reports in the media regarding the government's plan to raise the price of electricity every quarter until 2026.
He said another report says the capacity payments to private power plants account for 81 percent of the total estimated subsidies for electricity. This is happening because of corruption and inefficiency, he said.
Mustafizur Rahman, another distinguished fellow of the CPD, Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, chairman of the Development Studies department at Dhaka University, and Asif Nazrul, a professor of law at the same university, also spoke.
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