IMF and the World Bank
I have read the rebuttal "BB dismisses allegation of IMF's control thru' advisor" with interest. It uses the same old justification: advisors were also used in the past- a reference to follies of the previous government! We already have a former World Bank executive as the BB governor and a number of talented Bangladeshis are working under him. Still why do we need an IMF advisor? Having such an advisor in the past should be the justification for not having any now, not the other way around. Next to the pervasive corruption, IMF and World Bank (Bank-Fund) stranglehold on our economic affairs is the primary reason for our continued backwardness. The Bangladesh Bank governor is not alone, all our ministers, secretaries have become dependent on these so-called Bank-Fund advice. However busy our senior-most functionaries are, they will make time to meet even the lowest ranking Bank-Fund staff. In fact, there are allegations that appointments of the top officials in the financial sector require consent from the IMF and the World Bank! A very competent secretary at the Economic Relations Division was reportedly withdrawn after a week because he refused to toe their line. Both multilaterals and the government are hierarchical institutions. A simple policy for meetings between Bank-Fund staff and GOB functionaries should be adopted: Bank-Fund staff, Sector Manager/Deputy Director and below, should meet the concerned Deputy/Joint Secretary; Directors should meet Additional Secretary/Secretaries; and Vice-President and above, Executive Directors of the Board, can meet Ministers. The current practice of ministers and secretaries meeting junior staff of Bank-Fund poses a serious problem for systematic and objective evaluation of Bank-Fund policies at appropriate technical levels and leads to adoption of programmes that either do not work or are detrimental to the country's interests. Instead of devoting an inordinate amount of time to meetings with staff of multilateral organisations, our ministers, principal secretary, and secretaries should start thinking on their own; start working with our own officials to seek solutions to the multitude of problems that the nation is facing. The myth of lack of competent professionals in the country needs to be exploded.
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