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Books on Bangladesh
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Update No: 017 - (29/05/07)
NEW POLITICAL PARTY IN THE OFFING AND BAN ON
LEADERS LIFTED
There is a high likelihood that emergency-ruled Bangladesh will witness the
rise of a new political party as efforts are ongoing by the military-backed
interim government to encourage competent and sincere leaders to form a new
political order. According to a report in the Manovjamin newspaper, the search
for talented and competent leaders entrusted with organizing politics at the
local levels almost resembles a talent hunt. For instance, a number of former
youth and student leaders belonging to former prime minister Khaleda Zia's
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and her archrival ex-premier Sheikh Hasina's
Awami League were approached to break with their present parties to join the new
political process.
Separately, Bangladesh's Awami League party has said that its leader Sheikh
Hasina will return to the country now that the government has decided to lift a
ban on her entry into the country. Bangladesh's main political parties, the
Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party say the government's decision
to lift all restrictions on two former prime ministers, Sheikh Hasina and
Khaleda Zia, represents a people's victory and the protection of constitutional
rights. But there is speculation in political circles that even while the ban
may have been lifted off the leaders, their political future is bleak as they
might face a number of corruption charges. Ms. Zia's two sons have already been
charged with corruption, and one is in jail. Ms. Hasina faces charges of
extortion and involvement in the murder of four political activists.
DISMAL ECONOMIC TRENDS FOR THE FUTURE
Bangladesh's economy might face some upheaval in the coming months according
to a new report published in the Financial Express. Officially, the inflation
rate is around 7.0 per cent. But many economists suspect that it is already as
high as 10 per cent. The prices of basic commodities such as rice, edible oils,
various categories of pulses and potatoes have skyrocketed. Moreover, the
government is in heavy debt with external borrowing. There are unsettled state
liabilities and mismanagement and state-run entities. Examples of such problems
are listed below. For instance, interest payment against internal borrowing by
government might be 20 per cent higher this fiscal, than what was originally
estimated in the budget. A subsidiary of the state-owned Rural Electrification
Board was in dire financial crisis. The Rural Power Company Ltd, the subsidiary
of the board, is reported to have a bank loan burden of 6.0 billion Taka while
an arbitration verdict against it requiring payment of 2.0 billion Taka awaits
settlement. Also, the government is likely to take over the entire liability of
the Bangladesh Petroleum Co-operation through issuing bonds worth 100 billion
Taka at 10% interest rate. This means that the state will need to borrow from
the public to bail out the sick organization.
WATERWAYS CONNECTING INDIA AND BANGLADESH
The Brahmaputra River will soon witness a number of vessels carrying fuel to
Bangladesh in the light of India's decision to export 120,000 tonnes of diesel
to Bangladesh annually. This venture marks the start of a new trade route and
better economic ties between the two neighbours. It also promises to generate
more employment. The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPC) and the
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, the marketing arm of the Numaligarh Refinery
Ltd (NRL) of Assam in northeast India, have signed this export-import agreement
to meet Bangladesh's vehicular fuel demand.
'The business deal is definitely a win-win situation for both the countries.
Apart from earning revenue, the most important aspect of this agreement is that
the waterways could be a new trade route for the two countries,' Bhupati Das,
chairman-cum-managing director of NRL, told IANS on telephone from Dhaka.
Bangladesh's total demand for petroleum products is 2.2 million tonnes per
annum. The 2,906-km Brahmaputra River, one of the longest in Asia, traverses
Tibet, India and Bangladesh before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. The 1,530 km
long Brahmaputra waterways connecting Assam to Kolkata via Bangladesh - about
600 km passes through Bangladesh - has remained literally idle despite the two
countries having a protocol agreement to allow using the river system for cargo
movement.
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