[ALOCHONA] Salute to three drivers

Salute to three drivers A new government, a deep-seated recession, and yet a remarkable growth -- our kudos goes to farmers, workers and migrant labourers this year. Without them, Bangladesh could face different music in the year that rolled by. Good agricultural production supported by sufficient injection of farm credit boosted domestic demand. A surprising spurt of remittance flow by a dwindling number of migrant workers also helped the cause. And garment workers chipped in cheap labour to keep the country's apparels floating in harsh times. All this in turn kept domestic demand and the economy buoyant. We salute these three drivers of the economy, who helped navigate us through the turbulent waters of 2009. There were many moments of glory for the government in the last-one year. The prudent economic policies helped achieve a macroeconomic and fiscal stability in a time of the worst recession since the World War II. Inflation was relatively low. Reserves and balance of payments were good. The stimulus package that came belatedly was channelled in the right direction. Many might say Bangladesh handled its stimulus package even better than the US. The US was criticised for its Buy American clause in the package. "It was a prudent stimulus package and directed properly. The good point was the government did not give in to pressure groups in allocating funds," said Dr Zahid Hossain, a senior economist of The World Bank. Despite the undue pressure of the readymade garment exporters, the government kept the sector out of the first stimulus and only included it in the second package with a host of conditions. Food security was another point of comfort in 2009 with a 13 lakh tonnes stock of grains and 17 lakh tonnes import of wheat until December. We had a good boro rice production and an aman too. The preparation for 2010 boro rice cultivation is satisfying too. However, agriculture will remain a major challenge for 2010. "How to ensure farmers a fair price to encourage them in production and how to provide consumers food at low price would appear as a matter of policy choice," says Dr Mustafizur Rahman, executive director of the Centre for Policy dialogue (CPD). The answer lies in agricultural productivity enhancement through research and development. A major effort could be to welcome the second technological frontier where hybrid seeds and technologies would reduce production cost and increase agriculture growth. "This now looks like the only answer to the riddle," Dr Mustafiz observes. Despite this, the past year was one of entrepreneurial inactiveness -- businessmen yet had to recover from two years of regimented disciplining coupled with inadequate infrastructure. Also businessmen had yet to get a clear picture of who the real players in policymaking were. Many would see the past year as a timeline of lost opportunities. This is more so when the government enjoyed an unusual patch of political calm -- there were no hartals, the opposition was too weak to even put up a political protest and the government overwhelmingly strong in parliament. This all served the perfect recipe to accomplish some thorny and urgent missions. The key recommendations of the defunct Regulatory Reforms Commission and the Better Business Forum (BBF) could be implemented to improve the business environment and thereby jack up confidence of businessmen. Most recommendations remain unimplemented today. The tax, VAT and business registration process could have been simplified and turned into a one-step procedure. Time for business registration could have been shortened. Steps could have been taken to utilise the funds of the much-vaunted public-private partnership (PPP) scheme. Not a single penny of the Tk 25 billion fund has been spent and the major reason was saddling the Board of Investment with the task of implementing PPP. Successful records worldwide show it is the finance ministry that can handle such schemes successfully and Bangladesh could have been no different a case. "The non-implementation of a promising scheme like PPP to address the crucial need of the economy is disappointing," says Dr Zahid Hossain of the World Bank. "This is one project that could have taken the government a long way into solving many crucial infrastructure needs." The climate change fund remained unutilised while the country was ravaged by repeated cyclones. The glaring plight of the Aila victims could not pry the government's eyes open -- to motor its machinery into utilising the climate fund for meaningful mitigation of the Aila victims' miseries. The port surfaced as another sedentary point after the initial bustle during the caretaker government and businesses are not at all happy about that. "But the major challenge for 2010 would be how to translate macroeconomic stability into an accelerated growth rate through higher investment," says Dr Mustafiz. In absence of a timely Quantum Index of Production (that measures industrial performance), proxy indicators such as capital machinery import, term loan disbursement and industrial use of electricity point to a sloth in investment. The reasons for the slack are also understandable and a major challenge for 2010. When power supply is uncertain, gas fizzling out and roads and ports inadequate, investors would think twice before flashing out money. Power was a special area that could have been better handled in the past one year. But the initiative came quite late and 2010 is going to be a victim of the lagged plans. "Investment which stimulates further investment did not take place leading to the current hesitation of investors," says Dr Mustafiz. The implementation of the annual development programme (ADP) is another region that requires better handling in 2010. The government planned a big ADP and the implementation so far is good, especially in relation to absolute amount of money spent so far. But given its importance to crowd in private investment, the pace of implementation has to accelerate in the second half of the fiscal year that begins with the New Year. "One vulnerability that Bangladesh is now exposed to is the volatility in its major earning sectors -- exports of goods and manpower," says Dr Mustafiz. Exports posted positive growth and yet it had seen a topsy-turvy flight. The situation is likely to spike in 2010 as major garment export competitors such as India, Vietnam and China had offered stronger stimuli to their economies and gained competitiveness, Dr Mustafiz explains. When the global economy recovers definitively, these countries would be in a competitive advantage to grab the opportunity of demand increase. This is exactly why Bangladesh would have to be vigilant on its own competitiveness through aggressive policy instruments. As the New Year comes, hopes now lie on tackling the quick implementation of a string of promises and plans, strategies and tactics to bring dynamism to the private sector to motor the economy.   http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=119983

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[ALOCHONA] FW: University Teacher Beatenup by Chhatra League Leader

--- On Thu, 12/31/09, Zoglul Husain <zoglul@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:   Subject: University Teacher Beatenup by Chhatra League Leader http://www.prothom-alo.com/detail/date/2009-12-31/news/31139

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[ALOCHONA] A Petition to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh

 

The Prime Minister

Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh

 

Respected Madame Prime Minister:

 

I write this letter with a sense of humiliation and hesitation sincerely hoping that this will reach you and find your serious attention.

 

The tragic event (murder of your family members) that befell you is beyond human comprehension and description. Any law, whether Islamic, Western, Eastern or even a primitive tribal community based one call for justice and punishment proportional to the crime.

 

We are in favor of law and order and as such all crimes (violence against women, corruption, drug and human trafficking, bribery, nepotism, terrorism, murder, rape, stealing just to name a few) must be pursued vigorously and the criminals must be punished accordingly, free of political influence.

 

Recently the verdict has been given to the perpetrators of the murder of your father and other members of your family.

 

In a few days a petition will possibly be sent to the President for the final say on this matter, who will not act against your will, nor should he. So the decision lies on your shoulder. What would you do? 

While we appreciate the action taken to bring criminals to justice and punish them promptly and judiciously we also feel that you need to consider the following point of view.

 

Logic, love and compassion for the family, pressure from your fellow party members, even a sense of justice call for immediate execution of the people who carried out this brutal act against your family members. But I am pleading to you to show mercy and commute their death sentence and keep them behind bar for the rest of their lives.

 

A member of my immediate family, a decorated war hero, was hanged to death along with many other officers of the patriotic armed forces of Bangladesh. I have the first hand knowledge of utmost suffering it caused the children, parents and siblings and other member of the family.

 

My request is not politically motivated. I do not know any of the convicted people, never seen them in my life. As a matter of fact I lived on the same street as your parents, in Dhanmondi RA, two houses away. The only time I voted, I voted for your party.

 

Hangings and executions do not stop crime it only increases the desire for revenge. If hangings and killings would improve law and order then Bangladesh would be a society free of murder.

 

If you allow these people to be hanged like ordinary criminals then your father would have died at the hand of murderers and criminals. By hanging them you would elevate them to the level of martyrs with the possibility of their becoming national heroes under future changed circumstances.

 

You may also show clemency to them thus elevating yourself to a level beyond imagination.

 

Because, I know that you are a believer in the One True God so listen to what He says in His last and Final Revelation to mankind in the Qur'an:

 

"The recompense for an injury is an injury equal thereto (in degree) but if a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah: for Allah loveth not those who do wrong" (Al Qur'an, Surah Al Shura: Ayah 40).

 

Our beloved Prophet (SWS) has shown personal example of mercy. Upon victory he forgave all his enemies even to the people who murdered his beloved uncle brutally, tortured and oppressed him and his family.

 

 

Aziz Huq

December 31, 2009

 

PS:  If a reader agrees with the contents then please forward to others, newspapers and specially to the Prime Minister. If you support the case for the mercy petition then express your support but please do not bring in political considerations. Look at this strictly from humanitarian angle.  

 

 

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[ALOCHONA] Seikh Hasina Freedom Fighter Chilen ? Never

Aslam son, asnwer me: Kakatua Seikh Hasina ki freedom fighter chilen? Never. Sheikh Hasina to receive Indira Gandhi prize for selling the country to India like her father?   --- On Thu, 12/31/09, Syed Aslam <Syed.Aslam3@gmail.com> wrote: From: Syed Aslam <Syed.Aslam3@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [khabor.com] Kobi Almahumd ki Freedom Fighter Chilen ? Never To: khabor@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, December 31, 2009, 3:42 AM     Poet Al Mahmood's Kolkata days in 1971 were very interesting ..... Did he write any poem to encorage the Liberation warriors?     Related: http://khabor. com/news/ bangladesh/ 12/bangladesh_ news_12302009_ 0000005.htm     On 12/29/09, niloy Sobhan <bashiala@yahoo. com> wrote:   Read  more about Kobi AlMahmud   http://arifjebtik. amarblog. com/posts/ 95061     Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

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[ALOCHONA] Attack on Mahmudur Rahman,M Abdullah Amardesh, Where is Amenesty ?

Dear All,
Many persons and organizations protest and condemn the attack on Mahmudur Rahman,M Abdullah and Amardesh,

but where is Amenesty international?

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