Rather than assuage the workers by announcing a respectable wage, the wage board has essentially fuelled workers’ outrage and made a mockery of the wage negotiation process

The government should have figured out how to rein in food inflation by now.

Dr MM Akash, professor of economics at Dhaka University, explains what is driving the inflation up in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has always battled and progressed through crises. But what future awaits us?

Bangladesh government should own up to its mistakes

If there is one indicator that epitomises the government’s mismanagement of the economy in recent times, it is inflation -- which raced to an 11-year high of 9.94 percent in May.

Even though poor people are struggling to make ends meet amid runaway inflation, the government allocation for social safety net programmes may not increase much in the next fiscal year.

Inflation in Bangladesh fell slightly to 9.24 per cent in April, driven by a decline in food prices, although it still remains at an elevated level compared to historic trends, official figures showed yesterday.

Inflation in Bangladesh jumped to a seven-month high of 9.33 per cent in March as food prices rose and the adjustment of oil, gas, and electricity prices took hold, highlighting the pains low-income households are going through.

The landless casual workers in rural areas and the urban poor face a bleak prospect.

Why is the government failing to manage the market as they should?

High commodity prices in the global market are often used as an excuse to justify price hikes in the domestic market, even if there is no direct correlation

Increase monitoring to check manipulation of food prices

Arresting high prices requires more focused and extensive actions by the government.

How do we address the silent famine that is looming large?

The government has kept borrowing from the Bangladesh Bank as commercial banks can’t come up with much-needed funds owing to the liquidity crunch. 

Bangladesh has a low risk of external and overall debt distress despite higher external borrowing in recent terms, said the International Monetary Fund.

Abdul Wahab, a security guard at an ATM booth of a private bank in the capital, works 16 hours a day.

Bangladesh is expected to get about $6 billion over the next four years from development partners other than the International Monetary Fund to meet the development financing needs, particularly to address climate change challenges.

This shouldn’t have been a mere political statement; it should have been the reality. But the current government policies are not in line with that goal.