Economy doing fine: Muhith
Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday said though good governance is not yet ensured and political turmoil persists, the economy is doing just fine.
"The country's overall economic condition is good," he said in response to noted economist Akbar Ali Khan's apprehension that the economic growth would decline for lack of good governance and political confrontation.
The finance minister was speaking as the chief guest at a seminar titled "Bangladesh at 40: Changes and Challenges" in Jahangirnagar University (JU) organised by the Department of Business Studies.
Akbar Ali Khan, a former adviser to caretaker government, presented a paper at the seminar. JU Vice-Chancellor Prof Shariff Enamul Kabir chaired the discussion addressed, among others, by Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman.
Akbar Ali referred to a World Bank estimation that showed clear deterioration in the governance between 1996 and 2009 owing to political turmoil.
He said the two major political parties are locked into a protracted war of attrition. "Confrontational politics has split all segments of the society. Even the civil society is not a unifying force. It only reinforces the politics of confrontation."
Despite these problems, Bangladesh has achieved significant success in increasing food production and social indicators, said Akbar Ali.
He observed the economic growth would not be sustainable unless good governance is ensured.
He also noted that the country's progress in poverty alleviation has been slow and the number of the absolute poor continues to be staggering.
Muhith, however, disagreed with the economist saying that around 50 percent of the population now contribute to the economic progress.
He hoped that the country will suffer no more from power crisis in three to four years as the incumbent government has a plan to add 4,000 megawatt of electricity to the national grid by this time.
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