Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, the chief of the committee on White Paper on the state of Bangladesh’s economy, has cautioned that the pro-reform sentiment in Bangladesh may wane if the interim government does not accelerate its reform agenda.
“That means the people who are now in favour of reforms at one stage might step aside from the balanced reforms due to the economic insecurity,” he said on Saturday.
He urged the interim government to leave behind three critical legacies to help steer the nation back on track.
The legacies he outlined are: making the gravity of corruption clear, tackling malgovernance and establishing an administrative framework conducive to building a balanced and sustainable economy.
Speaking at a symposium titled ‘White Paper and Thereafter: Economic Management, Reforms and National Budget’ at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC), Dr Debapriya stressed the urgent need to stabilise the economy.
He outlined the importance of addressing growth trends, employment, poverty alleviation, and social security. “Currently, a confrontation is creating in our country centering election and reforms,” said Dr Debapriya, a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and convener of the Citizen’s Platform for SDGs.
He called for wide-ranging discussions on the upcoming budget, pointing to slowing growth, a lack of private sector investment, and employment challenges as pressing issues. “Specially, the growth rate is slowing down, no investment in the personal sector and problem in employment is there,” he said.
Dr Debapriya criticised the interim government, led by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, for not presenting a clear economic manifesto.
He argued that this lack of a cohesive policy framework made it difficult to evaluate the While acknowledging isolated steps taken by the administration, he highlighted the absence of a comprehensive plan to build a balanced and inclusive economic system.
“We need clarity on how the government plans to address issues such as LDC graduation and provide mid-term support to those lagging behind,” he said.
The economist also pointed out that the interim government was operating under a budget formulated by the previous Awami League government. “This government has not placed a revised budget, rendering all indicators linked to the previous one irrelevant,” he observed.
Dr Debapriya also criticised the lack of transparency regarding development projects. “Without a published policy for scrutinising these projects, it becomes challenging to assess their impact and feasibility,” he added.
Debapriya alleged the corruption in Aman paddy collection is still going on like the previous Awami League tenure.
“In Aman paddy procurement there was corruption in the previous time which is still exist,” he said.
He said the country saw a record amount of Aman production, thanks to the farmers’ efforts.
“But till now we do not see any success in collection,” he added.
He also alleged that the farmers are being deprived of fair price like the past times.
