Perspectives
A reality check
EVEN as the authorities have been attempting a Cesarean rebirth of the polity and feeding it with the syrupy promises of a bright future once the agenda it has undertaken comes to fruition, belying the prospect of any windfall, things have worsened -- at least for the present.
The recalcitrant market for essentials did not relent, neither did the country's trade and commerce get rejuvenated, despite the government considering an amende honourable for the top business entrepreneurs now incarcerated for corruption. The price hike kept skyrocketing till the end of the Ramadan, notwithstanding the establishment's sincere efforts to set up BDR's fair price shops and price monitoring by it.
The post-Ramadan market is also expected to be scary because of the devalued currency due to unabated inflation. Now that the Ramadan is over, it is to be seen how the market, and for that matter the country's overall economy, behaves.
In the meantime, the prognoses already given out by the experts and economists are not quite comforting. While they predict a pervasive dearness and public hardship, ground reality suggests that it will be virtually impossible to rein in the economic behaviour resulting from the unpredictable and unstable political future of the country.
Almost a year through the specially empowered government of meritocracy, the country is still on the brink -- and not without reasons. The present dispensation inherited a country thoroughly corrupted, plundered, and terrorised by BNP-Jamaat thugs, and a highly politicised administration, as well as the concomitant problems emanating from them. As the interim government was putting things in order, the existing problems were compounded by the devastating flood, and a crop failure resulting from its recurrence -- thus having lingering effects beyond a fixed time frame.
The government was also jolted by periodic eruptions of violence, at one time on university campuses and at another in the garment sector -- a legacy of the past, when they proliferated in a particular milieu but lasted as a practice also for the future. The piled-up problems show that we may not be able to totally come out of the morass any time soon.
The shrinking job markets abroad, falling aid level, decreased investment, increasing unemployment, and bureaucratic bungling in many sectors conjure up a spectacle comparable only to the one we witnessed during the closing days of the last BNP-led government. As a matter of fact, the precipitation that started at the time could never be fully checked by the present dispensation through its multi-pronged drive against corruption, terrorism and a plethora of other irregularities, so what was previously a downward slide now appears to be getting worse.
After having already increased the fuel price once, the government -- as hinted by the energy adviser -- may be considering another increase, alongside enhanced tariff for all utility services. It is mind boggling to think of its nightmarish impact on public life, particularly for those on the margins.
We are at a juncture where the scenes are indeed bleak all around, the latest being the uncertainty created for our Haj pilgrims this year. Bangabandhu cobbled together aircraft from diverse sources to lay the foundation of a national airline, even in a war-ravaged country. It flourished, showing rather bright prospects at times. Yet, after about three decades of existence, it is today unable to carry our pilgrims because it has almost disintegrated due to gross mismanagement and misappropriation in the organisation.
There is some uncertainty surrounding our political future. The chief adviser seemed confident about ceding power to elected representatives of the people when he said recently that an unrepresentative government shouldn't be holding power for long. The army chief repeatedly expressed his utter lack of ambition to take over the country. The CEC has announced his irrevocable road map for national election before the year 2008 is out.
Notwithstanding these positive developments, people are showing little interest in the highly publicised pre-election preparation. Of course, a few old politicians and new hopefuls probed the changed political landscape, only to promptly recoil. As a result, there has not been a single respectable addition to our political class.
It is not, therefore, surprising to look askance: to what end will the much-hyped credible election for transition to true democracy be held? Who are the protagonists of the chastened democracy in this country? The traditional politicians, even with their face smeared with ignominy, still appear to be the choice of the people.
What does one do with such an awkward reality? Can there be a credible election if the AL, which is still united behind its imprisoned leader, is kept out of election in the maze of EC conditionalities? The BNP's fate also cannot be much different.
The army chief is right when he asserts that there must be honest and capable leadership in a country of 140 million people. But it's another thing to make them emerge out of the shadows. He will have his place as a beacon on the highway of democracy if he can make it work before time runs out.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments