29-12-2020

TuesDAy, DecembeR 29, 2020
4
Let us stand together and protect our values
Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam
e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Repair and strengthen
coastal embankments
According to news reports, the coastal areas of
the country or 16 districts were severely affected
by unusual flood like tides in the wake of the
depression like situation in the Bay of Bengal some
months ago. The tides breached large areas of the
coastal embankments and inundated large areas
from where water is failing to drain away. As a result,
nearly ten million coastal people are living a life of
great distress with their homesteads and washed
away fish farms, boats, cattle, poultries and other
means of livelihood.
Besides, according to a Coast Trust research, about
150km of Bangladesh's 5,757km of coastal
embankments were affected by super cyclone
Amphan in the early part of the present year. The
post Amphan conditions dictated the very urgent
need of fastest repair, reconstruction and rebuilding
of embankments in the affected Amphan hit areas as
protection against future such events. But it appears
that this task was taken up casually. Although the
government has been doing very praiseworthy works
in many other vital areas, regrettably the tasks of
embankment repair and rebuilding remain relatively
neglected. Furthermore, whatever works were
carried out in relation to the embankments, the same
were riddled with corruption. Thus, the vastly
weakened embankments from the Amphan could
hardly provide defences against future unusual tidal
surges.
Speakers at an online discussion recently
demanded an immediate allocation of Tk 400 crore
to build and repair coastal embankments damaged
by cyclone Amphan and later tides. They also asked
the government to ensure Tk12,000 crore in
allocations each fiscal year to build sustainable
embankments in coastal areas.
The online discussion titled "Save Embankments
and Save Economic Activity of Coastal People
Through National Budget 2020-21" was jointly
organised by Coast Trust - a non-governmental
organisation - and Campaign for Sustainable Rural
Livelihood - a national network of individuals,
organisations and institutions. Chairman of Polli
Karma Sohayak Foundation Qazi Kholiquzzaman
presided over the function while Rezaul Karim
Chowdhury, executive director of Coast Trust,
moderated it.
Saber Hossain Chowdhury, chairman of Standing
Committee on Ministry of Environment, Forest and
Climate Change, noted economist Dr Qazi
Kholiquzzaman, lawmaker Akhtaruzzaman Babu,
and Dhaka University Professor Dr Mahbuba Nasrin
spoke, among others, at the occasion. Qazi
Kholiquzzaman said a special budgetary allocation is
a must to recover the losses of the coastal people.
Otherwise, many will lose their employment and the
areas will become prone to worse poverty. An
immediate survey should be conducted in this regard,
he added.
It is not that the government is too unmindful of the
problem. It has had several coastal embankment
projects under various nomenclatures and periods.
There was the Coastal Embankment Project (CEP)
implemented during the 1960s and early 1970s. And
following the two severe cyclones, SIDR and AILA,
that hit the coastal zone with devastating effect, the
Coastal Embankment Improvement Project, and
under it various other schemes, were formulated and
their implementation attempted with international
financing.
But the problem is that the long network of
embankments, running into hundreds of miles,
seldom fully stands a storm surge. The standard of
work and of course poor quality of construction
materials combine to render these protection barriers
brittle. There is need to construct newer
embankments every year, apart from regular repair
and maintenance . But the works must be done
absolutely incorruptibly. It is credibly alleged that
hundreds and hundreds of crores of Taka have just
gone down the drain from unpardonable 'corruption'
in the building, rebuilding, strengthening and
maintaining the networks of embankments. Such
callous loss of precious national resources cannot go
on unpunished.
Government must do two things immediately :
Fastest possible engagement in works along the total
length and breadth of the embankments network.
Second, all spending in the works must be carried out
with zero corruption to fetch the best results from
durable and effective embankments.
Bangladesh has a great cultural
history that deeply influenced by
the topography in which it sits and
the influence & interaction of faiths down
the centuries. The country has observed
the rise and fall of empires, with the
Maurya, Gupta, Mughal, and British raj
each leaving an ineradicable mark on this
fertile land. Hinduism and Islam have
shaped outlooks and cultural norms, with
the country strongly influenced by the
tastes and habits of its Indian neighbour,
whilst at the same time eager to forge a
distinctive identity. With the remarkable
growth of Islam borne out of the Mughal
period came a rich flowering of language,
music, poetry, literature and arts,
something that people of this land cherish
and are rightly proud of.
The people of Bangladesh always
showed great respect, tolerance, and freethinking
attitudes to each other's
irrespective of faiths, race, and communal
identities. We all lived together, fought
together, and prayed together during the
years of many national crises. We all
together demanded to be liberated and
free from West Pakistan. We all stand
together when West of the new country
mistrusted the East and took a series of
measures against us that caused
resentment and alienation in what had
once been East Bengal. When attempts
were made by West Pakistan to dominate
the East culturally and linguistically
protested vigorously by the people of
Bangladesh. Such aspirations were met
with violence and repression, with the
cultural elite being especially targeted.
Eventually, war broke out with the East.
We all fought together with great
aspiration and dream to protect our
motherland, our freedom, and our
beloved mother. The Bangladesh
Liberation War (1971), whilst it only lasted
nine months, was to be extremely brutal.
During this time, various minority groups,
especially communities such as the
Hindus, were persecuted, targeted, and
fled. Whilst West Pakistan eventually
acknowledged defeat, surrendered, and
accepted the East's desire to break away,
but in the process, millions had been
killed, and the country was brought to its
knees. The new nation is one borne out of
the war, it has had to cope with the
consequences of that traumatic period
ever since, and even to this day, the events
of 1971 continue to cast a long shadow
over the country.
Sadly, in recent years, Bangladesh has
witnessed some of the worst communal
violence. Dozens, possibly hundreds of
homes have been ransacked and heinous
crimes including rape and murder
perpetrated by Bangladeshis against
Bangladeshis. Though tragically such
violence, especially against minority and
disadvantageous communities is not new,
the scale of recent attacks should give
cause for alarm, significantly as it raises
serious question about the country's will
and ability to protect its citizens.
Given the fact that Bangladesh Awami
League, the Party under whose leadership
our country achieved the independence
established an independent state based on
the high ideals of nationalism, democracy,
and secularism. Unfortunately, the idea of
secularism has long been jettisoned, and
the country is lurching towards an
uncharted territory where citizens' rights
are poorly upheld. Intolerance and bigotry
have taken hold and as a direct result of
this free-thinking appears under attack
and many Bangladeshis no longer feel safe
in their own country.
As we survey this troubled world, it is
easy just to wring our hands and do
nothing. All too often we look around a see
evidence of grave injustices, and instead of
voicing our concerns, we see these
injustices through the prism of
partisanship. An injustice is an injustice,
and we must not permit our own political
or ideological convictions to cause us to be
selective about those injustices we raise
our voice about. All too often
governments are guilty of being
indifferent to the suffering of some, which
zealously championing others, by so doing
they demean themselves and do those
DR. P. R. DATTA
they are elected to serve a grave disservice.
Everywhere we look, we see evidence of
indifference or partisanship. It was even
heard that public servant, no less than a
government minister uttered sometimes
unlawful and hateful words towards
disadvantageous groups who had been
attacked. Such behaviour is intolerable
and besmirches our nation and its
founding ideals. The deafening silence
from the Government is being taken by
the anti-democratic and anti-civil rights
forces as tacit approval for their threats,
intimidation, and cowardly attacks. Many
in the wider world look on at what is
happening and naturally are having
second thoughts about visiting or
investing in Bangladesh. The climate of
fear and mistrust is now a grave threat to
peace, prosperity, and security of a nation
that we cherish.
As Bangladeshis, we do not want to see
Though tragically such violence, especially
against minority and disadvantageous
communities is not new, the scale of
recent attacks should give cause for alarm,
significantly as it raises serious question
about the country's will and ability to
protect its citizens.
Keyu Jin
a country that becomes a land of 'us and
them'. We know only too well what
suffering means. That is why we call on
the entire Government to act in concert to
put an end to the bigotry and persecution
that is destroying lives and whole
communities. It is time for the firm and
decisive action. Those officials who fail to
protect citizens dismissed and if
necessarily prosecuted using the full force
of the law. All the signs are that antidemocratic
forces sympathisers are on a
mission to destroy Bangladesh. They will
rely on inaction and weakness on the part
of the Government. Now is a time for clear
denunciations and robust action. After all,
an attack on a child, a priest, a place of
worship or any heinous attack on any
citizen of Bangladesh is an attack on our
values and an attack on each one of us.
There is frequent talk of secularism, yet
for a society to be truly secular, it must not
throw its lot in with a particular cause or
dominant group. Secularism recognises
the intrinsic value of pluralism; this
includes in faith, political beliefs, and
cultural traditions. A country such as
Bangladesh draws its strengths from a
variety of traditions down the ages, and
whilst there are some determined to
peddle a narrow version of events, in truth
the rope is made up of many strands. Our
outstanding achievement is the fact that
the whole is greater than the sum of its
parts.
Political, religious, and communal
strive is invariably borne out of
ignorance. We must guard against those
who dole out a little education, only to
manipulate and twist what they
distribute. Ultimately, we need to
empower and educate ourselves; for
them, we will come to realise that
education has the power to transcend
the boundaries of ignorance and
intolerance. Real knowledge is not
about degrees and certificates, but
about developing an understanding and
a conscience that means we tackle
injustice regardless of religion, creed,
colour and caste.
Thus, we respectfully call upon the
Government to awake from its apparent
slumber and defend ordinary citizens with
the same determination that it would the
borders of this nation we hold dear. What
we need is the enforcement of the rule of
law, and the ability to exercise the rights
enshrined in the Constitution of
Bangladesh freely. We hope and pray that
the Government will take this matter
seriously, as the very existence of
Bangladesh as a democratic and forwardthinking
country is under threat. We
respectfully ask the Government of
Bangladesh demonstrate a unity of
purpose and show a sign of courage and
determination worthy of the Bangladeshi
people that it was elected to protect and
serve. The language movement in 1952
and 1971`s war of independence both
reviewed our identity and unity as a
strong nation. This is the time for unity &
work together in solidarity to stop all
kinds of crimes, violence, and injustices
against any citizens of Bangladesh.
The Writer is the Executive Chair,
Centre for Business & Economic
Research, UK
China's economic recovery to be relatively slow but smooth
China's economy is on the road to
recovery after the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) shock in the
spring of 2020. Negative growth rates
in investment, manufacturing activity
and consumption have reversed course
and moved into positive territory, while
some indicators, such as exports, have
even beaten expectations, registering a
positive growth rate of more than 10
percent in the third quarter of the year.
How an economy recovers from an
economic shock determines how
robust its recovery will be. Back in
2009, the Chinese government's 4
trillion yuan ($611 billion) stimulus
plan following the global financial
crisis fueled a credit boom, which
inflated the shadow banking sector and
sent debt levels soaring to alarming
heights.
To be sure, China's overall response
salvaged the economy and
maintained impressive growth rates.
But as investment flooded into
infrastructure projects and housing,
and onto the balance sheets of large
state-owned enterprises, it created
even more economic distortions than
there had been before the crisis.
Overall productivity growth would
remain diminished for the next
decade.
This time around, China's recovery is
again based on a large stimulus plan,
coupled with measures to control the
virus so that work and other economic
activities can resume. But much of the
spending so far has come from the
public sector rather than private
enterprise. Moreover, recent figures
show that China's post-COVID-19
rebound has been led by investments in
infrastructure and housing, whereas
consumption growth has been sluggish
and nowhere near the pre-crisis trend.
Even though people are safe going
about their normal lives, the service
sector is still nowhere near a true
recovery. Out of an abundance of
caution, people are saving more and
going out less. This trend could bode ill
not just for China but also for the rest
of the world, since it may be an
indication of what awaits other
economies.
There are also at least three other
reasons for concern. First, while
China's export figures exceeded
expectations this year, they may be
more disappointing in the year ahead.
In 2020, China acted as a global
"supplier of last resort," keeping
factories open as they were shut down
elsewhere. And because part of China's
current growth is led by exports of
critical pandemic-related goods (like
face masks) to the rest of the world, its
positive trade statistics reflect not so
much a recovery in global demand as a
shift in production to China. This
process will reverse whenever global
production sites reopen and supply
chains start functioning again.
A second concern is that the recovery
has triggered a broader structural
deterioration, following years of
economic reorientation away from
exports and investment and toward
consumption. There has been some
progress in this regard in recent years,
but the balance is now shifting back
toward investment and trade, as supply
leads demand in the process of
recovery.
China's macro-level recovery thus
masks micro-level challenges. As of the
third quarter of 2020, income growth
had not recovered and household
disposable income was contracting.
Demand for migrant workers had been
hit especially hard and showed no signs
of recovery. And the labor force
participation rate remained
diminished since falling at the onset of
the pandemic.
Beijing is a decade wiser than it was
when it encountered its first major
economic challenge of the post-1978
era.
The third cause for concern is that
financial risks are looming, and this
time they are arising from the real
economy. Corporate balance sheets will
look substantially worse over time,
especially for small and medium-sized
A second concern is that the recovery has triggered
a broader structural deterioration, following years
of economic reorientation away from exports and
investment and toward consumption. There has
been some progress in this regard in recent years,
but the balance is now shifting back toward
investment and trade, as supply leads demand in
the process of recovery.
firms. Over the first half of 2020, the
gap between corporate borrowing and
saving rose to unprecedented heights,
reaching more than 10 trillion yuan.
This would take at least one to two
years to resolve even under normal
circumstances. If cash flows remain
depressed for an extended period, risks
of bad debt will rise, especially in the
transportation, travel and restaurant
sectors. Such debts will pose significant
threats to financial institutions, as the
quality of bank assets (and thus of loan
portfolios) deteriorates.
Fortunately, although the
government's short-term recovery
measures have slowed progress on
longer-term reforms, its postpandemic
spending spree is more
targeted than last time, and thus
unlikely to fuel another credit bubble.
Among the most notable features of
this package is its emphasis on
investments in innovation. In the name
of building "new infrastructure," the
government is redirecting resources
from traditional projects to data
centers, artificial intelligence
applications, and electric vehicle
charging stations, increasing
investment in high-tech manufacturing
and services by nearly 10 percent over
the course of the year.
This suggests that we should expect a
continued commitment to opening up
the economy, particularly in financial
services. Chinese policymakers
recognize that the domestic financial
system needs to become more
competitive and more closely
integrated with Western institutions
and corporations amid heightening
geopolitical tensions.
Finally, China's recent decision to
dispense with a national growth target
is a welcome development. With less
pressure on local governments to
churn out high gross domestic product
figures, they can focus instead on
boosting employment, improving
livelihoods, strengthening food and
energy security, and creating
opportunities for small and mediumsized
businesses.
China is a decade wiser than it was
when it encountered its first major
economic challenge of the post-1978
era of "reform and opening up." Having
matured and grown more patient, it is
less impetuous about achieving shortterm
gains and more invested in
creating opportunities for its people
over the long term. The recovery may
be slow, but it will follow a path that is
smoother and more secure than the
one taken last time.
Source : Arab News