Inclusive development, reduced inequality and poverty

It is clear from the past experiences that tinkering with the on-going divisive approach will not be of much avail for purposefully addressing the questions raised. What is required is a comprehensive inclusive framework. Towards constructing such a framework, it is essential that an overarching guiding principle that nobody will be left out is adopted to start with. That is, policies and programmes must be so designed as will promote the integration of all citizens into the nation's socio-economic-political fabric on an equitable basis. And, of course, there must be political commitment to this guiding principle.

In order to ensure that this guiding principle is properly applied it is essential that democracy is institutionalised, with democratic norms and values fully respected, at all levels of society; good governance is established, which requires, in the main, that transparency and accountability are guaranteed in the ways the government and other actors, public or private, do their businesses, and corruption and violence of all forms are quickly reduced to tolerable levels, the aim being to root them out; rule of law is assured such that there is no political or other kinds of interference in the legal process and that all citizens, including the weakest, get justice due to them; and a healthy growth of the private sector, involving all segments of society in an equitable manner, is facilitated.

In order to ensure proper justice for all, the judiciary must be separated from the executive. The separation must be implemented without further delay, particularly after the rejection by the Supreme Court of the government's application for an extension of time for the 18th time. Surely the executive's constitutional powers and responsibilities will be upheld by the separated judiciary. The government is probably concerned about the curtailment of the 'powers of mischief making'. Such a myopic and self-aggrandisement-centred attitude must be abandoned in the interest of the nation.

Towards controlling corruption, an important step is to make the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) effective. It is not now independent administratively and financially. Hence, unless the ACC is made truly independent including in these regards, it will remain marginal. In controlling violence and terrorist activities the most important thing to do is for the government to muster the political will to achieve that goal. Action currently being taken is not commensurate with the promises made and certainly grossly inadequate. Despite many illegal killings through 'crossfire', violence has not abated. In fact, violence and terrorism in the name of Islam, but certainly not sanctioned by Islam, are in ascendancy. It is in the interest of all that the issue of violence and terrorism is addressed purposefully and with determination with a view to ensuring the security of life and property of all citizens, which is the most important responsibility of the government.

In order to facilitate a healthy growth of the private sector it is necessary to put in place appropriate regulatory system/systems to guide the establishment of an effective public-private partnership. The government's role is that of the facilitator but also of the referee to ensure that while the private sector operators take advantage of the existing and emerging market opportunities, they do so in a fair manner without infringing on the legitimate interests of others and without resorting to corruption and black-market operations, as opposed to the currently widespread prevalence of such activities in the country. The government also needs to ensure that people of small means have access to facilities to undertake economic activities at appropriate scales throughout the country.

Once the overall framework as outlined above is in place, mobilisation of more resources and more effective utilisation of the available resources will be facilitated. To move forward, the many who are disadvantaged and downtrodden need now to be empowered so that they can take advantage of the opportunities thus created and effectively participate in the economic, social, and political processes of national development. The key aspects of empowerment include: development of people's capabilities, enlargement of their economic opportunities, and enhancement of institutional efficacies.

Human capability development among the ordinary people remains very limited, reflecting the low level (to cite just two key indicators: adult literacy rate of only 41 percent and extremely limited participation in science and technology at higher levels) and deplorably poor quality of education, extremely limited skill training, and poor health services particularly in relation to primary health-care of the people at large. Also, the capabilities of those involved in managing the affairs of the state internally and through external negotiations are, in general, well below the desired and appropriate levels. Again, limitation of expertise and skills is a constraining factor in the corporate sectors. Additionally, widespread corruption debilitates things in relation to the ways in which various sectors are managed. Comprehensive programming is, therefore, needed, which must be formulated and financially and institutionally supported to achieve accelerated improvements in respect of various aspects of human capability development, particularly relating to the people at large but also to those operating at various levels, including higher echelons, of both public and corporate management. In this whole episode, particularly in respect of the people at large and public sector functionaries, the role of the government is pre-eminent, but other actors in the society including the private sector must also play their appropriate roles.

Unemployment is rampant (35 to 40 per cent of the total available labour time) among both educated and uneducated and low incomes are pervasive involving those who are employed as labourers and marginal farmers in agriculture, rural non-farm activities, urban informal activities, and in manual work and at lower positions in public and corporate sectors. Obviously, these are key concomitants of the high level of poverty prevailing in the country. Over 60 million people are estimated to be poor and over 30 million hardcore poor. In order to enlarge their economic opportunities, it is necessary that creation of employment opportunities, both self and wage employment, be given top priority. Not only length of working time but also income and productivity are crucial considerations in the enlargement of economic opportunities. For productivity improvement, the important elements are improvement in human capabilities and availability of appropriate technologies.

The employment (both self and wage employment) and income earning potential of small and medium enterprises have long been known. For such enterprises to be established throughout the country and successfully pursued, access to entrepreneurship and skill training as well as to credit, technologies, infrastructural facilities, market information, and various necessary services on a wide-scale are essential. But, not much has been done in practice to promote such enterprises of appropriate types and scales throughout the country and it is crucial that they are seriously promoted without further loss of time. All other potential employment generating opportunities, particularly for the people at large but also high-tech activities as appropriate, must be identified and promoted by providing necessary support. But, in the liberalised import regime, the products produced in Bangladesh will have to compete in the domestic market against established foreign supplies and are unlikely to succeed unless necessary support is provided to the domestic producers. This is a difficult policy issue in the present age of market and globalisation. But, in the context of enlargement of economic opportunities for the ordinary people, it is essential that potential activities are selected, which may be different for different parts of the country, and adequately supported for a reasonable number of years, in order for them to succeed at home and, in appropriate cases, undertake exporting of their products and services.

For those who are unable to participate meaningfully in the employment (self and wage) market because they are physically or mentally challenged, adequate safety nets are needed. There are some such schemes in places, but much more is necessary and may be undertaken phase-wise on the basis of proper assessment of needs.

Public institutions in Bangladesh are bedevilled by politically motivated decisions, political interferences in the workings of these institutions, persisting entrenched bureaucracy, absence of proper coordination, and widespread corruption. Also, deployment of people on political considerations rather than on the basis of relevant expertise is another constraint. Local government institutions are virtually non-existent so that the local people cannot participate in governance or in economic and social processes on the basis of their own needs and perspectives. Also, democratic norms and values are not respected. It is the party in power and the government, which hold the sway in every respect. People often do not get justice unless they toe the line. And, then, there is widespread corruption plaguing the institutions. Clearly, therefore, the public institutions in Bangladesh are ineffective and in many respects in disarray. The efficacy of the concerned institutions must be improved by removing or at least minimising the above mentioned and other problems that now plague the institutions.

A concluding remark: Are the framework outlined and actions proposed in this article utopian? Perhaps, even certainly to the beneficiaries of the present unequal order. But, unless significant progress is made over the next 5-10 years along the directions outlined in this article, this society of ours is liable to implode under the debilitating weight of the persisting high levels of poverty and ever accentuating disparity between the rich few and the disadvantaged and downtrodden many. This is a dark prospect that all enlightened, patriotic people must do all they can to prevent from happening. Key elements of the pathway to be constructed and pursued to that end include those outlined in this article.

Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad is President, Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA).