Editorial
UN report cheers us
It is a hint of more to be done
The news certainly is cheering in all this socio-political gloom we have been wallowing in for quite some time. The recent UN report on economic conditions in South Asia places Bangladesh at the top, along with Sri Lanka. Despite all its economy-related woes, so asserts the report, Bangladesh has made a good showing with a GDP growth of 6.2 per cent in 2012. Considering all the turmoil --- chaos on the streets, instability in the garments sector, corruption in the halls of power and intransigence in the opposition --- the UN report is surely encouraging. It is, again, a hint of how much better as a nation we would be off if only politics were a little more stable and governance were a trifle more responsive to public needs. Even so, the facts revealed by the report about Bangladesh should be looked upon as a tribute to the resilience of our people across the board.
There has been strong growth in private investment in Bangladesh. That says a whole lot, especially when one considers that the same is not true of countries like Pakistan. Over these last many years, various governments in Bangladesh have been out on a limb in their efforts to have investment, both local and foreign, go up in the country. While we are quite reassured that local private investment in the economy has followed a steady course, we need to make it clear to the political classes, both in office and in opposition, that it is time for political stability to set in if enhanced foreign investment is to be drawn into the country. While we are on the subject, we cannot but register our appreciation for those tens of thousands of our expatriate workers who have over the years steadily contributed to the growth of the economy. Their remittances, the report in question shows, have steadily been going up.
The figures cited in the UN report ought to be taken as a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy scene. There are yet the many challenges that the country needs to overcome in the days ahead. Let us make no mistake. Politics in the future will centre on the economy. It is, therefore, time the major political parties formulated a consensus on the road we need to take in the days ahead.
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