ED: Time to act

January 7 marked the second anniversary of the incumbent Awami League government, and the occasion should serve as an opportunity for the nation, its people, and the government to take stock of how far we have come, and how much there is left to do.

A functioning democracy, at its root, caters to the will of the people and acts towards improving their lives in meaningful ways. In this regard, our success in meeting the SDGs so far, our impressive economic growth and work towards achieving middle-income status, infrastructural improvements across the nation, and focus on technological innovation through the Digital Bangladesh initiative are some of the more commendable decisions taken by the current government.

These have allowed Bangladesh to strengthen its position in the world, be it as a destination for the world to produce its clothes or to outsource the development of crucial digital solutions, and has paved the path towards sustainable development.

Our successes in these areas also stand in contrast to areas which still require our attention, from our dysfunctional judiciary -- which currently has thousands of cases in backlog -- to the corruption that stands as the primary obstacle to our progress in the future, and will require increasing attention moving forward if we have any hope of making dreams of a Sonar Bangla come true.

We hope that the government uses this opportunity to renew its efforts with the understanding that our success as a nation so far will only stand if the people are put first and, with the Covid-19 pandemic now still very much a reality and the supply of vaccines uncertain, the time is now to act.