If Bangladesh is indeed to take the next step in its development journey and fulfill its lofty economic ambitions, it cannot do so without the business community flourishing and reaching its full potential.
For that, what is required above everything else, is a favourable business climate that not only encourages investment from foreign investors, but encourages entrepreneurs within Bangladesh itself to invest in the country and open new businesses.
However, it is extremely disappointing that, despite Bangladesh’s stupendous growth numbers over the past decade or so, our entrepreneurs and businesses continue to face challenges with regards to ease of doing business due to multiple factors -- the primary of which has been identified as inefficiency in government administration.
Administrative inefficiency has been identified as institutional incapability to deliver services on time, prevailing corruption in providing services, unethically awarding contracts, and failure of officials to understand government policy.
This recent finding corresponds with Bangladesh continuing to struggle in the Ease of Doing Business ranking, where it ranked 168 out of 190 nations in the most recent index, and it is disheartening that we continue to be held back from our potential as a flourishing economy, simply because we cannot shake off corruption, negligence, lack of accountability, and unnecessary bureaucracy from within.
Enough is enough. It is about time the authorities took a long hard look at our service delivery and institutions, and weed out the problem elements from within. We need these institutions to cooperate and communicate with the business community, and indeed, everyone must be trained to adopt technological solutions.
Bangladesh has come much too far, and we cannot afford to let be held back from achieving our eventual goals due to these fundamental issues any longer.
