The political economy of hartals

Hartal is not simply an inconvenience or a nuisance as deemed by some people. It is tantamount to a call for an "economic boycott" of our own goods and services by our own politicians during the period hartals are in effect. In stronger words, one may regard the calls for hartals as an act of constitutionally sanctioned economic terrorism. Why should we not regard the call for a hartal an act of economic terrorism when the citizens of a free country (buyers, sellers, shop-owners, factory workers, business executives, transportation workers, students, and academic institutions, etc.) are forced to stay out of their normal and routine activities for fear of retribution and physical harm? Reluctant shop-keepers and innocent bystanders lose properties and many even get killed by hartal enforcing hooligans.

Historically, calls for hartals in Bangladesh are made by major political parties when they lose their grip on positions of power. Obviously, not all politicians are corrupt. Unfortunately, the honest and the dedicated are few and far between. Once an opportunity opens up with offering of a new government contract, or some private entrepreneur taking an initiative for major investment, the ministers and the entire government machinery including the lending bank officials line up to get a share of what can be grabbed from the project. These are the same politicians who get involved in hartals and lockouts when they switch from a position of power to one of powerless.

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Political protests, open political dialogue and debate are the fundamental rights of the citizens of a free society. But how can the politicians promise its citizens a better economic future if their acts are directed to destroy the economic fabric and infrastructure of the country they want to rule? Of course, the blames for loss of output and welfare due to recurrent calls for hartals rest equally on both the major political parties.

I was motivated to write this after I read about the UNDP report on GDP loss due to hartals. The report's claim about the loss of 3 to 4 percent of annual GDP apparently caused some discomfort to some circles. Leaving aside any contentions about the precise measure of the loss of economic output, and the magnitude of the parameter reflecting the negative effects of hartals, one must recognize that the GDP does not provide an accurate measure of the welfare of the people. The GDP measure does not reflect the welfare loss brought about by the inconveniences, hardships, and anxieties the citizens have to withstand during the periods of hartals and after. The GDP loss would be further aggravated when one considers the measure of discouragements for foreign investments, potential loss or delays of supplies of exports and imports due to delays in productions, and distribution? Hartals and the concomitant loss of output and welfare may seem as being a short-term phenomenon by the hartal callers. Political instability is probably the most important discouraging factor for foreign investment and inflow of capital. Political instability not only drives away foreign investment, it discourages domestic investors and encourages capital outflow.

In a capitalist and free market economy sources of funds for business investment and expansion depend on how strong and efficient is its financial market. Unfortunately, even after 33 years of its existence as an independent country, financial market in Bangladesh are still in a primitive state. Because of recurrent hartals and rampant corruption, public distrust in corporate accounting and finance, business conditions are not congenial to stock market activities. Profitability of businesses is already cut by bribes to government ministers and officials even before factories are built and operational. If businesses are not profitable and the factors that foster economic growth are hindered by hartals, lockouts and corruption, financial market will remain ineffective to generate sources of funds for business expansion and cease to function efficiently. Thus the impacts of hartals have long-term political and bleak economic implications.

Most immediate effects of hartals are losses of many daily essentials worth millions of taka which are perishable unless refrigerated or stored in cold storage. A small fisherman whose catches are for daily sales, a small farmer whose produce, such as vegetables and dairy products, are ready to be traded for purchase of his daily essentials cannot afford to lose their sales. The next day when the hartal is called off, there is bound to be shortages of these daily necessities. The public rushes to buy whatever they can get driving prices up. This price inertia will not revert itself in days to come and the result is an economy-wide inflationary pressure. Day labourers lose their wages and are thrown into uncertainty about post-hartal employment. Loss of work and income throws them into further financial ruin and poverty. If hartals bring misery to the public, how can such tactics gain widespread public support for political and economic reform?

Democracy provides the forum for reasoned and thoughtful political dialogue and public discourse. Resorting to violent means such as damaging and burning private and public properties during hartals to voice dissatisfaction against the policies of the party in power is becoming increasingly common and the citizens have already started showing their annoyance and non-compliance. Hartal is a political tool to be used only when everything else has failed and the issues raised are popular public concerns and demands. If the objective for calling hartals is to make the party in power unpopular and dysfunctional, then the calls for hartals and political protests are better motivated by those issues the citizens are struggling with on a daily and hourly basis. Some of these issues are corruption, health care, money laundering, politicians' family members investing and transferring money to foreign countries, deteriorating law and order situations, lack of clean and safe drinking water, road side city garbage disposal, shortage of electricity, etc., which affect the common citizens on a daily and hourly basis. Bringing remedies and reforms to these issues will improve ordinary citizens' life and living and at the same time awaken the voters about the lack of concerns of the party in power. Issues concerning political reforms, law and parliamentary affairs must at first be debated on the floor of the parliament. The party in power must allow open and timely forum for the opposition parties to voice their opinions and arguments. Hartals and protests may be warranted when the opposition is denied such a forum.

The democratically elected politicians in power are not obliged to listen to the voices on the streets but to the voters who elect them. Neither the Awami League (AL) nor the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is going anywhere from our national politics. The personal mutual dislikes of the leaders of the two parties and the acrimonious atmosphere they created among the politicians of the country seems to have reached to an irretrievable point. The politics of personal destruction and dislikes has made the democratic process blatantly farcical and the country has become an object of jokes and ridicules to late night comedians on Western television. It is well past time that they resort to reconciling and harmonious coexistence for the greater cause of the people.

Bangladesh may no longer be Henry Kissinger's "bottomless basket." Unfortunately, it has now made a transition to be widely perceived as one of the world's poorest and the most corrupt countries. When I hear or read this in the Western news media, I lose my pride. I strongly protest by suggesting that the country is not corrupt, the politicians and government machinery is. Being poor is not a crime, but being corrupt is. Why not observe a "hartal" against corruption and hartal itself?

Dr. Abdullah A. Dewan is a Professor of Economics at Eastern Michigan University, US.