-Abdul Awal Mintu in CGS meeting
Two groups in the country. An investment created employment and wealth. Another group has acquired wealth without doing any work. Those who are creating employment through investment in the country were the ones who were neglected.
They are still in the same situation. Abdul Awal Mintu, the former president of FBCCI, the apex business organization, made such a comment. He said that the businessmen want such reforms, which will lead to economic development and growth of the country. Wealth is created through economic growth.
And for the equitable distribution of these resources, good politics is needed. The wealth created in the last 10 years has gone up, not down.
He said these things in a dialogue titled ‘Dialogue for Democratic Reconstruction: Economic Policy Context’ organized by the Center for Governance Studies (CGS) at the conference room of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) on Saturday.
Businessmen said in the meeting that the country’s economy has been in recession for a century and a half.
The adverse business environment and fragile financial sector have not seen the desired investments. As a result, no new employment was created. Bureaucracy at this time
Businessmen have expressed concern over political behavior. They claimed that reform measures should be emphasized to ensure the business environment. This is the big challenge of the interim government.
In the discussion, the speakers said that the biggest obstacle in reforming the country’s financial sector is adopting the right policy and implementing it. The interim government has already taken several steps to address the existing challenges. There are mixed reactions to the need for political empowerment for long-term reforms.
They said that the economic system will not be fixed until the political system is fixed. Experts believe that the government should protect the economic system at this time. They said that stability of political and social order should be maintained through sustainable economic development.
Abdul Awal Mintu said about the discussion on various aspects of business and investment, even if all the problems are discussed, who will ring the bell on the cat’s neck now? I don’t see such people. There are no such people among the negotiators, even in the government.
He said the movement was against discrimination. Every year 2.2 million working people enter the job market in the country. Out of this only 5 percent goes to government jobs. Where will the remaining 2 million youth get jobs? The government will not be able to provide more than 5 percent jobs. The only way to get employment for the rest is through investment. These are done by those who are doing business and investment. And they are the most neglected in the society. Because they are called syndicates or thieves.
Abdul Awal Mintu said that investment is needed to ensure the employment of the unemployed. And what is needed in the country to get this investment is social capital. Many people think that they can invest only if they have money. But the foundation of investment is social capital. This capital comes through a venture and entrepreneur. If you want to get proper economic growth in the country, then social order is needed first. Social capital is now absent due to various divisions. As a result, there is no investment environment here. Those who invest will die. Investors now face a quadruple threat.
He said, if you don’t save, where will the investment come from? When inflation outpaces wage growth year after year, how can there be savings? As a result savings have decreased over the years. On the other hand, the wage growth rate has also decreased. If these two are deficient, investment will not increase. No gas after investing. If you get gas, there is no electricity. Multidimensional problems—they need to be solved.
He also said that the biggest mistake in the country is when politics and economy are separated. These two are complementary. Politics governs economics, and economics governs politics. What if those who control are thieves? As much as we talk about reforms, these are political issues. If the political situation is not right, investment, better healthcare and better education will be nothing. No reforms will work. He expressed hope that it will be easier to deal with economic and other crises when the democratic government comes.
Mir Nasir Hossain said, if we cannot fix the supply management, then it will not be possible to control the market. There is an increase in the price of products due to fraud. If this cannot be solved then inflation cannot be controlled.
“Everyone is talking about reforms. We are talking about the infrastructure, but we are not thinking about the poor people, said prominent economist and president of the white paper drafting committee. Devapriya Bhattacharya. He said, “What will happen to the landless farmers, what will be the salary of the garment workers – we have to think about these too.”
Professor of Dhaka University. Rashed Al Mahmoud Titumir said, most of the food needs are imported. It is unreasonable to expect law enforcement to curb inflation by controlling the market.
BCI president Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury (Parvez) said, “As much as there is talk about development, there is not much talk about employment.” We are retreating from our place as the industry is not being built.’
Former Chairman of NBR Mohammad Abdul Majid said that politicians have become bureaucrats and bureaucrats have become politicians. This shift in perspective needs to be broken.
Former president of FBCCI. Jasim Uddin said that it is not possible to control the market for selling in the open market. To work with entrepreneurs, it is necessary to work with bank policies first. None of the policies came to fruition because traders were not included in the formulation of policies.
DCCI former president Asif Ibrahim said, “The government should create credit cards for the youth to participate in education and employment.” We all have to work to bring the youth forward.
Sabur Khan, the former president of DCCI said, I am telling you, the debtors, why are the tax files of those who are taking loans not seen? Why credit score is not being introduced in Bangladesh Bank? Those who can work without talking, need to be found out first and put to work. Need for unity among traders.
Under the chairmanship of Center for Governance Studies (CGS) Chair Munira Khan, CGS Executive Director Zillur Rahman moderated the dialogue, Barvida President Abdul Haque, Center for Non-Residence Bangladesh Chairperson MS Sekil Chowdhury, economist Professor Dr. M. Abu Yusuf and many others.
