Economist and Distinguished Fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya said that the biggest challenge for Bangladesh is not formulating reform plans, but ensuring their effective implementation.
He commented that many good initiatives ultimately fail due to weak political commitment, lack of coordination, vested interests, and lack of accountability.
He made these remarks during a discussion titled “Romancing the Reform: The Bangladesh Story” at a session of the 9th Annual Economic Conference organized by Sanem in the capital on Sunday (April 19).
Bhattacharya said that although ‘reform’ has now become a buzzword in the country, strong political commitment and effective institutional capacity are needed for real change.
Comparing the reform process to a romance, he said that just as there are expectations, there are also stories of obstacles, patience and recovery.
According to him, reform is not a one-time event; rather, it is an ongoing political-economic process that develops depending on the context, leadership and public opinion.
He mentioned that the need for reform usually arises from realities such as crisis, global pressure, inflation, weak institutions, inequality or corruption. However, the success of these initiatives depends on their scope, implementation steps, speed and ownership of the stakeholders involved.
Stating that various types of reform programs have been implemented in Bangladesh since independence, he said that important steps such as the formation of state institutions, privatization, introduction of VAT system, exchange rate reform, expansion of social security programs, digitalization and introduction of national identity cards have been taken.
However, this progress has slowed down in recent years.
He highlighted the ‘legacy of plunder’ behind this slowdown. In his words, uncontrolled corruption, misuse of government resources, weak institutions and collusion between political-bureaucratic-business groups are hindering the reform process and encouraging crony capitalism.
Debapriya said that many reform initiatives, although they started strongly, later lost momentum or were diverted. The lack of a coherent economic vision within the government, lack of proper involvement of stakeholders and failure to overcome the obstacles of vested interests were the major reasons behind this.
Also highlighting the lack of accountability, he said that no effective system has been developed where citizens can directly see how much a reform has been implemented.
Expressing concern about the banking sector, he criticized the recent amendments to the Bank Resolution Act.
According to him, creating opportunities for former owners to regain control over troubled banks is a reflection of ‘oligarchic’ influence.
Calling for politically difficult but necessary decisions to deal with rising defaulted loans, he said political interference in the banking sector must be reduced and the autonomy of the central bank must be strengthened.
He also called for the implementation of the government's reform promises, emphasizing increasing revenue collection, rationalizing subsidies, and ensuring the quality of government spending.