NO FRILLS
Dhaka-Chattogram Highway: Why no feasibility study?
When policy planners undertake a major connectivity project like the Dhaka-Chattogram highway expansion, which serves as a lifeline for our exports, one would expect that they would do what reasonably well-informed policymakers in other countries do, i.e. conduct
Aramco attacks: Fuelling the fire
Fingers are being pointed at Iran for the drone attack on two major Saudi Arabian oil facilities set ablaze on September 14. While the sabre rattling picks up the tempo, and despite reassurances by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) that strategic oil reserves will be deployed to stabilise the market, price of oil has shot up in the global markets.
Making the most of BRI
A daylong dialogue organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) on September 8 brought together participants from Bangladesh and some South Asian countries, as well as from China. Among them were high-level policymakers, political leaders, academics and
Donors’ interest in Rohingya crisis waning?
By all indications, yes, it is waning. Not from ours, but from the perspective of the international donor community that has been providing humanitarian support to the million or so Rohingyas stranded on Bangladeshi soil for two years now. The data speaks for itself.
Getting a rotten deal on rawhide
The recent debacle over the purchase of rawhides after Eid-ul-Azha raises some important concerns. The government had fixed the prices of rawhides of cows and buffaloes at Tk 45-50 per square foot in the capital city of Dhaka and Tk 35-40 elsewhere. The price of the rawhide of castrated goats was fixed at Tk 18-20 per square foot, while it was Tk 13-15 for that of non-castrated goats. This year, some 1 crore animals were sacrificed across the country. Forty-five percent of these animals were cows, bulls and buffaloes, according to rawhide traders.
Socio-economic impacts of the Rohingya influx
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in association with the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) and the local administration of Cox’s Bazar, unveiled the findings of a joint impact assessment study on July 25, 2019. The report titled “Impacts of the Rohingya Refugee Influx on Host Communities” looks at the impact of the massive influx of Rohingyas on the host communities and how it has affected the long-term development needs of Bangladeshis living in the affected areas.
Foreign assistance boosts infrastructure development
During the five-day state visit by PM Sheikh Hasina to China on July 2-6, Bangladesh and China inked some important deals—five agreements including three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and other agreements that included investment in the power
Bringing more people under the tax net
The finance minister recently stated that it is the government’s intention to bring 10 million people under the tax net.
Seating service: Nothing more than a sham
Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) had formed an eight-member committee on May 2, 2017 to submit recommendations for bringing city buses providing the so-called “seating service” under a legal framework.
An effective shelving of the two-state solution
With the death toll mounting to 58 last Monday thanks largely to a trigger-happy Israeli military and smiles all around Tel Aviv and Washington the two-state solution is all but dead and buried. When President Trump decided to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, all pretence of a negotiated settlement was effectively thrown out the window and what is happening in Gaza today points to a mindset that
The crippling effect of slow development
Despite interest shown by foreign investors in country-specific Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) taking steps to acquire and allot land to that effect, it appears preparatory work on most of these zones is lagging far behind schedule.
Why bother with fitness certificates?
It is a common enough sight on Dhaka roads to see policemen hailing cars and motorcycles to stop and check their papers. It is within their rights to do so. What is equally common on the roads is that while the dutiful policeman is doing his job, a dilapidated jalopy resembling a monstrosity straight out of a “Mad Max” movie gushing out big, black plumes of smoke chugging along the road pretending to be a bus
What to do about Ramadan prices?
Every year we are promised by the relevant ministry that prices of essentials will be kept within reach during the holy month of Ramadan. Since, that promise is hardly ever kept people have stopped expecting anything in this regard. The ministry of commerce had a meeting of traders, law enforcement and officials from the various government agencies and departments along with importers and traders on April 1 to better gauge what stocks should be
Leave the car in the garage
According to the latest data, Dhaka's traffic has ground to a snail's pace. 12 years ago, the average speed per hour (on Dhaka roads) for motorised vehicles was 21 kmph (kilometres per hour). Today it is 5 kmph (it has reduced 76 percent).
Why the endless bailouts of state-owned banks?
The government has just announced a fresh bailout package to the tune of Tk 20 billion (approximately USD 250 million) so that they may meet some of their capital shortfalls.
Highway robbery
Highways are the major arteries of our economic backbone. Since the railway network was never really developed to transport bulk goods, we are inordinately dependent on highways to connect the capital city with the rest of the country to get goods transported.
Why is the project floundering?
Things are not looking very rosy for one of the largest infrastructure projects undertaken by the government under the public-private partnership (PPP) model in 2011.
What about our “loss”?
It's that time of year again when we talk about the rationality of power tariff hike. According to media reports, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has forwarded a proposal to the Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) that there is need to hike the prices of petroleum products.
