|
Books on Bangladesh
REPUBLICAN REFERENCE
Area (sq.km)
144,000
Population
144,319,628
Capital
Dhaka
Currency
taka (BDT)
President
Iajuddin Ahmed
|
Update No: 008 - (31/08/06)
POLITICS
Prime Minister (PM) Khaleda Zia is expected to collect authentic information
about the field level standings of her party's key ally Jamaat and probable
partner Jatiya Party (JP-Ershad), from the party's grassroots level leaders
during its National Executive Committee meeting. Sources said that she will
consider the opinions of the grassroots level leaders while making her mind
about expanding the ruling alliance. But internal feuds and the JP issue are
likely to be the focal points for the grassroots level leaders as about 40
organizational districts have been left with expired committees. According to
party leaders, Khaleda will give directions to a selected few at the grassroots
level so that they can face the crucial few days following the handover of power
in the last week of October. Khaleda Zia is expected to emphasize continuing
party activities after the handover of power according to senior BNP leaders.
Also, the party high command decided to take opinions from the grassroots level
leaders on the issue of Jatiya Party's probable inclusion in the alliance so
that they can be inspired to work together to ensure victory in the election.
BNP sources said. "Party leaders will talk about the next election which
will be helpful for us to win it," said BNP Standing Committee Member
Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain.
The NEC meeting, seen as preparatory to the next general election scheduled to
be held in January next year, will focus on preparing an election manifesto,
latest political situation and organizational work all over the country.
According to the program schedule, Khaleda Zia will sit in a closed door meeting
with the grassroots level leaders after the inaugural session, to which the
media will not be allowed access.
In separate news, a Bangladesh court has acquitted former military ruler Hossain
Mohammad Ershad of graft charges in an oil and defence deal, easing the way for
his return to the political mainstream ahead of elections next year. Ershad who
was ousted from power in a popular movement in December 1990 still faces charges
of corruption and abuse of power in half a dozen other cases. "He has been
discharged from two charges of corruption because they could not be proved for
lack of valid grounds," said his spokesman Sunil Shuvo Ray. A court
official confirmed the decision which followed an acquittal in another
corruption case earlier this month. Ershad, who ruled Bangladesh for nearly nine
years after seizing power in a bloodless coup in early 1982, has said that he
planned to join the ruling alliance headed by Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia.
But the coalition has put off a decision on accepting Ershad into its fold after
a key Islamist group said it may hurt the alliance in elections due next
January. Ershad has already served six years in prison in two cases and is
currently out on bail in three other cases. His supporters say the charges
lodged against him were a political vendetta (Source: Bangladesh's New Nation)
INDIA AND BANGLADESH
Indian home secretary V K Duggal talked to reporters during his two-day
official talks in Dhaka. He said, 'India and Bangladesh are friends and must
remain friends always and work for a solid relationship so that future
generations should not find fault with us on any issue'. The killings of
Bangladesh nationals every alternate day along with frequent skirmishes in the
border, have created enough bitterness between the two peoples at least, if not
between the two governments for their strategic relationship, for all these
tragic incidents. The Indians are fully aware of the causes of all these
unfortunate incidents taking place in the border areas as well as their
solutions. Bangladeshis are at the receiving end and cannot ensure the solutions
despite their desire to resolve them once and for all. Instead of addressing the
burning and long outstanding issues that remain unresolved for years and
decades, the talks and meeting held at official and political levels either in
Dhaka or in Delhi concluded without any tangible outcome.
The 1974 Indo-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement is a prickly issue between the
two countries and came up at the formal discussion. Its non-implementation due
to India's non-ratification of the agreement that was signed at the highest
level by the two late prime ministers - Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Mrs. Indira
Gandhi - by India's Parliament lies at the root of most border problems. Due to
an unanticipated delay in implementing the accord, Bangladesh has a 'passage
only' right through Tin Bigha for entry to her two enclaves, Dahagram and
Angorpota - and not the corridor itself on lease in perpetuity, as envisaged in
the 1974 agreement. From what experts argue, it seems that until and unless the
Indian Parliament ratifies the land boundary agreement, all the talks and
meetings would continue to be a futile exercise as once ratified, it is binding
on the part of the Indian government to implement it. More than three decades
have elapsed since the agreement was signed but they have not yet ratified the
accord. The Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission, better known as JRC, is
another glaring example of protracted issues like sharing water of the common
rivers which go through endless discussions and talks for months and years, but
have resulted in little concrete solutions.
ECONOMY
Recently, in an article by Dr. Anwar Hossain, Chairman of Bangladesh Atomic
Energy Commission, the author argued about the need of nuclear power technology
to meet Bangladesh's growing power demand. Bangladesh is in shortage of power
grids. The current supply of electricity is simply inadequate to meet demand in
all major cities. The situation is worse in smaller towns. Many people are,
therefore, forced to suffer during the hot summer seasons, let alone the loss of
productivity that such chronic shortage of power contributes in the
manufacturing sector. Dr. Hossain has pointed out that money is the most serious
impediment to achieving a big goal such as building nuclear power plants.
"In the 'New World Order ' agenda of Bush-Blair," he said, "the
primary design is hostility to any Muslim nation, and to deprive its
nation-states from getting cutting-edge technologies like nuclear and laser
technology." Hossain claims that the current activities in the United
Nations Security Council (UNSC) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to
stop Iran from the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purpose are sad reminders
that our best intentions may not be sufficient even if hundreds of millions of
dollars are spent and there is no guarantee that the intended facility would
produce electricity. The problem is even graver for Bangladesh, according to
Hossain, for the following reasons. Its economy is weak with low cash flow.
Those who can afford to be domestic shareholders in big projects are filthy rich
and often corrupt. This leaves out major potential contributors from inside. The
loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) may
involve high interest rates with too much red tape that may be too high a
pressure on a nation that has not learned to manage its wealth right! Also,
thanks to a media barrage from India and the pro-Israeli lobby, Bangladesh is
increasingly viewed abroad as a nation that sponsors terrorism. India appears to
be a hostile neighbour, he alleged, and it is difficult to see how Bangladesh
would be able to get into the nuclear field unless the government changes its
outlook and promotes mutual trust. Bangladesh requires large sources of energy
to make the necessary transition to a developing nation. Hossain further argues
that today, nuclear energy is cheap and its technology much safer than what it
was back in the early 1980s when he worked on hypothetical LOCA problems
(similar to the Three Miles Island disaster in Pennsylvania). Today, there are
also alternative means of energy generation, e.g., wind mills and solar energy.
They are quite suitable for tropical coastal terrains of Bangladesh. A thorough
review of all these potential candidates for energy is needed before opting for
the nuclear option. If and when nuclear energy is the best option to choose, an
international tender may be called for bidding.
In a separate study, an editorial by Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, Governor, Bangladesh
Bank, it has been noted that the primary challenge for Bangladesh's economy
today is the financial deepening-which is high on its long-term development
agenda. For now, as a part of the pro-poor lending policy, banks should
increasingly provide credit to the areas like agriculture, agro based
industries, and small enterprises. To encourage extension of credit to small
business, Bangladesh Bank has established a Tk. 1000 million refinancing
facility. In addition, IDA and ADB have contributed US$10 million and US$30
million respectively. In the short term, the country has to stabilize its
inflation rate. The special need for reconstruction and rehabilitation after
last year's flood and persuasion of an accommodative monetary policy aimed at
acceleration of economic activities has resulted in the rise of money supply.
Globally there is a trend of rising interest rate. Seeing that real interest
rate has fallen very low as the inflation rate has risen, banks are now
compelled to offer higher nominal interest rate, or in other words, positive
real rates to attract their deposits, without which credit expansion and rise in
investment would not be possible. R. Ahmed hopes that banks would lower the
nominal rates as soon as their liquidity positions improve. All these, however,
are dependent on the market fundamentals. The American Chamber of Commerce, a
vibrant forum for the business interests has been playing a very positive role
in development efforts.
« Top
|
