Entrepreneur and the environment

A pseudo industrialist does not establish a viable and profit making plant. The initial kickbacks are so great, that he has the urge to siphon almost the whole of the borrowed capital. The collateral that the pseudo industrialist provides, proves to be of little value. An industry with a strong foundation cannot be built up when the whole process has been corrupted and politicised. In trade and industry, the economic factors are all that matter, and these should be allowed to play their part by the government. East Asian or the South East Asian economic giants had one thing in common and a clear imperative, that the economy has to be run in the most efficient way and to do this the government, the labour and the industry had to work together. This regulatory machine in Bangladesh is not geared to expedite industrial output or its establishment, but to create bottlenecks at each stage. The putting up of an industrial unit, in this country for the real entrepreneurs is a nightmare at its worst.

Even the top industrial countries of the world provide subsidies to the agricultural sector and tariff protection for the industrial goods. Our motto for the nascent industries in Bangladesh should be "nurse the baby, protect the child and free the adult". In other words protection has to be for a limited period, so that the inefficient industries may be weeded out.

The growth and consolidation of the industries need a stable political situation. The very running of the factories is dependent on industrial and social peace. If the safety and security of life and property of the citizens are not ensured, there can hardly be any production, or a productive climate, not to speak of domestic investment and direct foreign investment.