Middlemen are main problem

Dr Mohammad Farasuddin

Staff Correspondent : Prominent economist and former governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr. Mohammad Farasuddin said middlemen, defaulters and money launderers are the main problems in Bangladesh. It was because of them that the famine of the seventy-fourth century was caused. Because of them, $7 billion of Bangladesh are smuggled abroad every year. They take loans from banks but do not repay. Incentive money goes into the looters’ stomachs. The real beneficiaries don’t get that much.
He said these things in a discussion program on his book ‘Bangladesh’s Agrajatra: A Proposed Outline of the National Seven Year Action Plan’. It was organized at the head office of The University Press Limited (UPL) on Green Road in the capital on Monday. Professor Raonak Jahan, Honorary Fellow of Research Institute CPD, Abdul Bayes, retired Professor of Economics Department of Jahangirnagar University, Managing Director of Ekatar Television Mozammel Haque and Managing Director of UPL Mahrukh Mohiuddin spoke among others.
Dr. Mohammad Farasuddin said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken many bold decisions in the path of development. He alone can come out of the circle. If he comes out of the circle, Bangladesh will become a developed country before 2041.
Regarding middlemen, Mohammad Farasuddin also said that the responsibility of solving food products in the market should not be left in the hands of traders. Direct government action is required here. During Bangabandhu’s time he established TCB and organized food distribution. TCB can still be implemented and should do so to solve market problems.
He also said that the father of the nation said in his fiscal policy that the rich should be taxed at a higher rate. Development projects should be done for poor and poor people with that money. It has not yet been possible to do so. Because, two and a half million people of the country are supposed to pay taxes as 8.7 million of them are super rich. But the tax collection is little. Millionaires own half of the deposits in the bank. Such development is not egalitarian. It cannot be called development if the fruits of progress are handed over to only a few. Development needs to be universal.
What is good for the people must be determined through political will.
Dr. Ronak Jahan said, many people want to do good work in the government. But they cannot overcome the most influential. The country has anti-corruption commission, human rights commission. These institutions are not able to work independently. If someone wants to work independently, he will not have a job. Another persistent problem in the country is policy implementation. Policies contain structural guidelines. How these structures work is also important. A good instruction is never the same with the intention it is given. For example, the policies of the caretaker government. Non-partisanship was its principle. But after some time, it was made into a party. There are many more such examples in the country.
He said, while Farasuddin’s book is written for policy makers, general readers will also benefit. Debt collectors mentioned in his book have been talked about since the 1980s. The matter of Banking Commission has been discussed. They have been saying these things for a long time. But the government is not doing anything about these. Even if you say you will do it again many times, it is not possible. This must mean that there are some very powerful groups and lobbies here. Those who do not want these reforms.