As Bangladesh embarks on a period of critical political transition and structural reforms under the leadership of Professor Muhammad Yunus, it is essential that we, the people of Bangladesh, push for constructive and transformational changes, rather than being swayed by social media debates such as whether our national anthem should be changed. Instead of becoming mired in symbolic debates, we should prioritize addressing the critical issues that have long deprived us of the future we deserve.
For the last decade and a half, people have been deprived of basic civil liberties, such as freedom of expression. Now, that the people have access to exercise this right with the utmost freedom, opinions are emerging on a wide range of issues. At the same time, it is equally important for us, from both the individual levels and as a society, to engage in thoughtful and constructive discussions.
Some experts argue that the interim government does not have the mandate to enact major reforms. Thus, Prof Yunus should focus on establishing bridges amongst all the stakeholders of the state, including political parties and the general public, and the interim government should serve as an aggregator where all the actions which all of us take as a state, strongly reflect the collective consensus of the people in the most optimum manner.
The civil service of our country is the backbone through which effective governance and a stable economy could be achieved in Bangladesh 2.0. Prof Yunus’s portfolio also includes the Ministry of Public Administration, and one of the biggest priorities the Yunus interim government should emphasize immediately is the strengthening of law and order that reinforces public confidence in the state institutions of our country.
Corrupt civil servants who were engaged in wrongdoings during the Hasina regime must be trialled, but that itself risks paralyzing these institutions by subsequently, perhaps in a direct manner, targeting individuals within the civil service, who reached influential positions during the previous regime. While new appointments are being made in government positions -- often being filled by promoting or transferring existing civil servants -- concerns are emerging of how these decisions are being made -- whether it is being driven by populism rather than merit.
The public should be able to witness the clarity behind the factors driving these appointment decisions, which should be accompanied by transparency in the very structure guiding these appointments, prospectively eliminating the possibilities of the existence of the forms of “witch-hunt” justice, diminishing fears within the civil service, creating greater rapport between the civil servants and the interim government, while also accelerating coordination -- instrumental for good governance.
A revolution, by its nature, demands a paradigm shift, and in today’s Bangladesh, where meritocracy is seen as central to Bangladesh 2.0, this spirit must guide all structural decisions. Rather than imposing a culture of blanket punishments, the interim government should focus on ensuring that the judiciary has the independence and resources to hold individuals accountable, distinguishing between systemic corruption and individual wrongdoing, while also fully maintaining the integrity of public institutions.
While rehabilitation and reintegration are important, every person must be served justice, and those who have committed wrongs must be punished accordingly. Establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission could balance accountability with forgiveness, serving as a differentiating mechanism that enables the nation to move forward without institutional paralysis.
The interim must urgently address Bangladesh’s macroeconomic challenges, particularly inflation, unemployment, currency volatility, and stagnation in key industries like Ready-Made Garments (RMG). In order to address inflation, Bangladesh Bank is approaching the recognition of inflation-targeting mechanisms, particularly by increasing interest rates to 9%, at the point for a managed float system to cushion our economy against sharp currency fluctuations. While this increase is aimed at reducing inflationary pressure, it is accompanied with two potential side effects: Higher interest rates could prospectively decrease consumer spending, while also reducing business investments in the short term.
It would be ideal for the government to emphasize on establishing the necessary foundations that will shape the social and developmental trajectory of the country
With the condition of our country’s foreign reserves, our economy could potentially face difficulties in maintaining the currency stability. A managed float system is where the central bank intervenes only when necessary -- could prospectively address the volatility issues in exchange rates. However, in order to avoid currency depreciation, the Bangladesh Bank has to be extremely careful in its efforts towards balancing it with our reserve levels. Theoretically, these measures could bring inflation down, but bringing down interest rates to promote economic growth could take longer than a year, implying that the interim government must manage expectations accordingly.
Alongside these monetary adjustments, the interim government also has to immediately emphasize on launching an emergency economic stabilization plan, accompanied by the hyper-focusing towards sector-specific fiscal stimulus in agriculture and technology, agriculture being the backbone, and technology being the emerging pillar of our economy -- instrumental towards the creation of more jobs, while addressing environmental sustainability, enhancing entrepreneurial spirit among the youth, while strictly putting future-focused productivity gains at the centre of the emergency economic stabilization plan’s priority. All of this might ensure that Bangladesh moves away from low-skill, labour-intensive industries towards high-tech and sustainable economic activities -- but the steps the interim government takes, should be foundational and should be concrete.
Since the pandemic, our trade policy has demanded immediate re-evaluation towards the diversification of exports, and decreasing our overdependence on the RMG-sector. Diversification of the economic base is key. If the interim government wants to lay the foundation of the export-diversification initiatives, it could start by targeting high-growth industries such as electronics and pharmaceuticals.
Our economy could be benefitted through the introduction of incentives like short-term tax breaks for non-garment entities in the manufacturing space, while addressing efficiencies in our export-oriented industrial capacities could be the operational stepping stone -- primary requisite towards establishing Bangladesh as a core investment scope for international investors in the diversified manufacturing space. This could be achieved by easing the procedures through which FDI enters our economy -- simplification of bureaucratic barriers and legal protections are important, possibly in the future, restoring business confidence that eventually helps the core macroeconomic indicators to perform well.
It would be ideal for the government to emphasize on establishing the necessary foundations that will shape the social and developmental trajectory of the country. The core priority should be on reforming institutional frameworks in a systematic manner, enhancing accountability and transparency through strategic communication and vision setting, and creating systems that future governments can build upon through institutional resilience and economic diplomacy. This approach would ensure immediate stability and also set the stage for sustainable, long-term growth, without overstepping the limitations an interim government usually operates with.
There cannot be peace without development, and there cannot be development without peace -- and right now, Bangladesh needs both.
Nazmus Sakib Khan is a 22-year-old Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), where he also serves as a RSA Young Fellows Advisory Board Member. He is a Global Shaper of the World Economic Forum and recently completed his studies in Economics at the University of Warwick. The views expressed are his own.