Political impasse, negative governance forecast bleak future

Bangladesh's "political impasse and negative governance trends", according to the United States Department of State, do not bode well for sustainable growth.

"Just a few months ago, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) revised downwards its projection for Bangladesh's growth, citing the political climate," said Richard E Hoagland, principal deputy assistant secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.

In his remarks at Washington International Business Council in Washington, DC, on the developments in South and Central Asia on June 2, he said the current situation hurts the Bangladeshi people and the economy.

"So we're focused on finding a long-term solution to the stalemate, a solution that works for all parties, and one where the Bangladeshi people can freely and peacefully exercise their rights of political expression and participation," he said.

According to him, Bangladesh has the potential to become a modern and prosperous country, one that connects the economies of South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Bangladesh has had an average annual growth rate of about 6 percent for over two decades, reducing its poverty rate from over half of the population to less than a third.

And, much of that growth has been driven by the garment sector, which employs some four million workers, 90percent of whom are women, he said, however, adding that working conditions there need a lot of improvement.

After some truly horrific factory disasters, a remarkable coalition of government, industry, labour, and civil society came together to fix the failures in worker safety and labour rights that led to those tragedies, he said.

International brands have played a leading role in improving factory safety in Bangladesh, and have been instrumental in pulling national industry and government in the right direction, Richard E Hoagland said.

"But a lot more needs to be done, particularly on labour rights – for all the progress, we have still not seen the change in attitudes, enforcement, and incentives that the garment sector needs to succeed," he said.