The prime minister has directed the Textiles and Jute Ministry to reclaim 47 jute mills and factories which were privatised while the former cabinet minister, Abdul Latif Siddique, was in charge of the ministry.
A government committee has alleged that these assets were sold in non-transparent ways without inviting tenders, which raises the question why they haven’t been investigated already.
While the ACC should always be called upon to investigate any allegations of underhand dealings, the government is wrong to use Latif’s dismissal as a pretext to turn its back on the policy of privatisation.
At the present time, most jute mills, private as well as state-owned, are losing money as there is too much capacity and not enough demand.
Under the circumstances, loss-making state-owned jute mills should be closed to reduce excess production capacity. It is not fair to expect owners of private jute mills to compete with loss-making state-owned mills which receive subsidies without limit.
Their land and assets can be used more productively by the private sector to build purpose-built, safe factories to sustain export earning jobs in the RMG sector.
The future of Bangladesh depends on the private sector. The confusing mixed messages which the government has sent this year on jute mills, from promising more sell-offs to proposing costly moves to take privatised mills under state control, undermine the certainty needed to attract investors.
State-owned jute mills have consistently failed to deliver profitability. The government should not waste further taxpayer funds on them.
