Bangladesh has a new beginning, a new chapter is being rewritten under the leadership of Dr Yunus and student leaders.
An open letter to Chief Advisor Dr Yunus
by Taufiqur Rahman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/taufiquerahman/)
Dear honorable Chief Advisor,
You were my teacher in Chittagong University in Economics Department before I left for USA. I have tremendous respect for you and your commitment to the nation. Our brave youths & Gen Z generation have selected you to lead this nation. As a nation, we have a lot to learn from you about honesty, humility, and commitment to national development. As you embark on this most difficult and complicated task of your life, we must stand with you and support your initiatives.
Common people do not understand the gravity and magnitude of the damage done by Awami League government through massive corruption and siphoning off billions of dollars. I urge your communication team to be extremely aggressive in their efforts to educate the common people about the magnitude of the problem so that they increase their understanding of the challenge you face in rebuilding the nation & reforming institutions. At the same time, as you know, people want to see actions and business community is feeling frustrated with the slow pace of opening up activities and the economy. There are people in powerful positions who are not actively participating in your efforts to move the country forward quickly. The people see that the interim government is getting bogged down by various political demands from the parties who are eager to get into elections.
We are glad you have reached out to world leaders and global financing organizations to support our economy. Millions of people need jobs, especially our youths who are completing their education. We know that over 28% University graduates do not have jobs. The international community is making financial commitments to develop our country. My humble request to you is to appoint an overall Coordinator or Adviser for all the external assistance coming to the country so that the resources are used efficiently, timely, and transparently. Execution will be key to attracting more resources. Strategic and efficient use of international resources will build confidence in the international community. Every Ministry must demonstrate that implementation is on track and disbursements from financing institutions are not falling behind. A Coordinator or Adviser will monitor accountable and timely implementation of all donors funded projects and will be key coordinator with all donors and ministries.
While some people may have unrealistic expectations of what can be achieved in a couple of months, we do not believe meaningful changes can happen quickly. Those who talk about quick fixes do not comprehend the complexities of the work. Changes are not simple patch up jobs. We see your actions. You have formed several commissions to guide the change process. You have appointed several competent people to use their knowledge and skills for nation building. You have taken several actions over the last few weeks on anti-corruption, economy, and good governance. You have mobilized the world leaders and global financial institutions to support Bangladesh. You have asked for help to recover billions of dollars which have been stolen by previous regimes. And you have expressed firm commitment to human rights & religious freedom for all. These are the right steps.
Inflation management is a complex task. We know people are not happy with inflation. But you are taking actions. Recent price increases of eggs are a good example. Other essential commodities prices have also increased. You have taken steps to import essentials and reduce import duties on sugar, edible oil, rice, and eggs. The Administration has partnered with Fashol to open vegetables shops in several places to offer price relief. You are introducing new initiatives such as Farm-to-Market scheme to supply eggs at lower prices. Innovative interventions & tough actions are needed to streamline functionality of intermediaries and eliminate their role where they are not needed. Bold actions such as temporary duty-free import of essentials from India & other South Asian countries can be done to serve the interests of the poor people and stabilize the market. And we know such bold actions will not be popular with market manipulators. For example, Indian government recently took bold steps to deal with inflation and introduced price control centers, reduced import duty on critical raw materials, cut excise taxes on petrol and diesel, and increased subsidy for essentials for poor people. None of them were popular with the business community but they did serve the poor people. Our poor people are suffering while the unscrupulous traders charge higher prices. Millions of poor people are in difficulties and food insecurity has increased.
The Commissions that you have set up are staffed by skilled professionals. This is a good initiative so that changes can be made based on national and global best practices, extensive consultations, and deeper understanding of our country’s realities. It would be important if they could provide monthly updates to the public about their work. We need to keep our people informed and motivated to support your team’s efforts. After the white paper on Bangladesh economy is issued, we hope new policy actions will be introduced to make Bangladesh the most attractive place for investments by the national and international private investors. We must make it extremely easy for investors to invest in this country so that they can help create millions of new jobs. You have advocated for three zeros – zero poverty, zero unemployment, and zero net carbon emissions. For a new Bangladesh, we must develop our economy guided by your commitment to three zeros. We must create a true market economy that will serve our people.
While many police are demotivated to serve the nation, we must find solutions to encourage their support for nation building. We know many law enforcement officials were used to getting the extra money through corrupt practices. That era has ended. Law and order are serious needs of the hour. People need to feel safe again. People will understand if you take tough and bold actions to bring order and punish those who are not law abiding. Rule of law must prevail.
Our political parties are a selfish bunch. I am glad you are meeting them but not setting an artificial timeline for the election. Unless the political parties demonstrate real reforms within each party, no discussion of election is needed. The political parties need to make tough decisions to remove people who have a history of corruption and criminal activities. The days of dynastic politics are over. No single family or families should own a party. New leaders with clean records must be selected in each party’s leadership positions. One other message for the political parties. Bangladesh will not be like Afghanistan or Iran or any other Muslim country. Bengalis are a progressive people, and the state guarantees rights & freedom for all genders. There will be no place for religious fanaticism or intolerance or artificial demands on women. As World Bank recently said, participation of women in the economy will accelerate our economic development. We must expand opportunities for women. Minorities must be safe here. Girls and women must be safe here. Harassment of females must stop. Our government must be extremely tough on those who commit crimes against women and minorities. Freedom of religion is the right of every citizen.
People are now getting tired of agitations in various places in Dhaka, some of which turned violent. While peaceful protests are part of democratic process and is allowed in every democratic country, but violence is never acceptable. The government has to come down hard on people who think they can take law in their hands or force a government to act based on ultimatum. Our students also need to understand that a government cannot function on ultimatums and needs time to study each demand before taking action(s). They should not use up their goodwill with the public by frequently getting down to street politics.
Finally, a word about tough actions. People desire tough actions on anti-corruption, law and order, prices of essentials, and respect for women. Interim government advisers and leaders must be neutral, transparent, and must be bold in their actions in their respective portfolios. Our people have made so many sacrifices because they want a clean Bangladesh. Timid or soft actions will not get results. We still hear about corruption. We need a whistleblower system to report corruption, misuse, and nepotism. Each Adviser should forget his or her past political affiliations while performing their current duties. Our youths need to maintain their trust in our leaders. We will never go back to ‘business as usual’ of the past. We will stand with you and your team to make our youth’s dream come true.
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