Bangladesh in 2012: Hope and apprehension

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Friday, 03 February 2012

Author / Source : Ziaur Rahman

Another year has just arrived with hope and anxiety amidst the global specter of uncertainty. A few months back we saw our Finance Minister confidently say that there is no stress on the economy, although recently he had to accept that the country is now in the grips of severe economic duress that will haunt us well into 2012. Given the constricted economy, escalating prices, balance of payment gap, subsidy given to import costs of fossil fuels, 2012 does not show any positive signs of economic turnaround. Myth and reality are two interweaving narratives that many countries use to manage their population. The art of pretension becomes so deeply rooted that one loses the ability to extricate fact from fiction.  Let us have faith that our government will ‘call a spade a spade’. The government must bring to the attention of the public as to which direction the economy is moving. The dilemma of not being able to state the true conditions have strong negative implications. The common man can only make decisions based on the information available to them and if the government remains tight lipped regarding the affairs of the state then the brunt of the devastation falls squarely on the common people as a result; the fate of the our stock markets is a glaring example of this. Let 2012 be the year of greater scrutiny, transparency and effective utilization of policy instruments to safeguard the investments of the less fortunate people.
The politics of change has been sweeping the globe and dynastic politics is slowly but surely ebbing away apart from one or two instances. The world of dynastic politics has shown its ugly fangs in many countries and the people have really pushed the agenda of change. We have seen such sweeping changes in Libya and elsewhere.
Through the manifesto of change, Bangladesh Awami League came to power and promised a country that shall be run based on proper system of governance and improve the standard of living of its citizens through economic progress. Unfortunately, the law and order system of Bangladesh has been precariously shifting from being average to bad, especially due to the rise of secret killings in 2011, which casts a negative light on the government’s achievements in maintaining law and order system.  Let us have renewed faith in enjoying the fundamental rights in full as mentioned in our constitution and show the world that democracy stands taller than all other forms of governance.
Lifting the emaciated poor to a life with basic rights and the ability to provide decent schooling for their children is a dream articulated in the constitution of Bangladesh. Let 2012 be that year where we move closer to such dreams and set the flag of Bangladesh waving in style. We hope that 2012 will usher in the renaissance of cultural, political and social transformation in all spheres of citizens’ engagement in Bangladesh. 

The author is CEO, IITM. He can reached at:
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