JUNE is the month of public fear in Bangladesh because the declaration of the budget in this month invariably pushes the prices of necessities further upward. This year, such an increase in prices began earlier than that, and from the first day of June, when the finance minister presented the budget, it got worse.

Source of wastage and corruption

IN BANGLADESH, the financial year ends in June, and the next year begins in July. It is a matter of common sense that July-June is not at all feasible for Bangladesh’s financial year because of uncertain weather and the rainy season during the closing months. Actually, Bangladesh and only a few other countries, like Pakistan and Australia, are still following this financial year. Most of the countries follow different timelines. India’s financial year runs from April 1 to March 31, the UK’s from April 6 to April 5, the US from October 1 to September 30, and China from January 1 to December 31. In fact, April 14 to April 13 could be the best financial year for Bangladesh because that also coincides with the Bangla year Baishakh-Chaitra, when people are used to doing yearly accounting themselves for long. Or it could be January–December, much better than July–June. Although some of us have been trying to make points to change it for the better, the decision-makers, for reasons unexplained, are not willing to leave the old practice that causes huge wastage and corruption.

Rising prices and beneficiaries

RISING prices of essential goods, one after another, have become a matter of constant public anxiety. In fact, the government’s claim of the rate of inflation, ie, around 10 per cent, does not match our real experience. If we disaggregate the consumption basket and focus on basic essential food items, then it goes beyond 20 per cent. A recent market study shows that the prices of lentils, wheat, cooking oil and sugar have increased more than 100 per cent on average after the Covid crisis. Recently, the rise in the price of chilli showed an extraordinary jump of more than 500 per cent. After closing down six sugar mills, thousands of skilled workers lost their jobs, the sugar market became wholly dependent on a few importers, and price rises became a regular phenomenon. It should be noted here that the oligopoly of sugar importers is very close to the ruling party; they include the City Group, Deshbandhu Group, Meghna Group, S Alam Group, Abdul Momen Group and TK Group.

We also see another oligopoly in the power sector that has accumulated huge profits just because of well-managed bad deals. In particular, a small number of business groups in the sector grabbed Tk 900 billion between 2011 and 2022, not for producing electricity but for sitting idle. Among them, only 12 groups grabbed Tk 600 billion during this period. These groups include: Summit Group, Agrico UK, Erda Power Malaysia, United Group, Banglacat, Orion, Hosaf, Mohammadi, Sikder, Max, and Confidence. (Samakal, July 25, 2022). Other beneficiaries of power sector drainage include the S Alam Group, NTPC, Reliance, and Adani groups of India.

People knew it before IMED

ON MAY 25, the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division, a wing of the planning ministry, submitted a report on the power sector that surprisingly acknowledged problems and drainage in the sector. When this report was disclosed in major media in early July, the authority hurriedly replaced it with the revised one that dropped ‘four pages on power sector problems, potentials and challenges’. This section discussed ‘power sector corruption, irregularities, inefficiencies, and the protection offered by an indemnity law to power sector players’. This indemnity law is officially called the Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply Act of 2010. The indemnity law protected officials and activities carried out under the law.

The original report correctly termed different steps and contracts, especially the model of capacity charge payment, as ‘model of looting’ and correctly pointed to capacity charges, overhauling charges, tax-free import, high power prices, easy bank loans and cheap fuel supply as the ‘major sources of drainage of capital and corruption’. They also showed how Bangladesh’s power sector turned into a ‘rehabilitation centre for ineligible suppliers, mainly from China and India, through wrong and imprudent power purchase agreements or contracts.’ That report said that ‘the power investors took away Tk 90,000 crore in 14 years based on the lie that it was an incentive necessary for attracting private power investments.’ (New Age, July 8, 2023)

These facts are not new; they have been widely known through the media and independent experts. I have also been writing and working on these issues for many years. I remember very well that when this indemnity law in 2010 was passed, we could smell very bad things were coming. Therefore, we kept raising the demand from the National Committee to drop it. The government, instead, extended the time limit of the law again and again with fresh lies until 2026. Actually, this law became a shield for all wrongdoings and disastrous deals in this sector, one after another: quick rental, coal, nuclear, and LNG. All these steps and deals increased the debts of the country and the drainage of resources, created huge risks and hazards in the coastal area from Sundarban to Cox’s Bazar, increased the cost of electricity, and raised the price of that for consumers. Nevertheless, these could not give people the necessary comfort; they are still suffering from long hours of load shedding even after higher payments. But there are much better alternatives. We offered an alternative plan in 2017 to ensure uninterrupted supply of cheaper, more environmentally friendly, and more sustainable electricity for all without using coal or nuclear. But the government favoured the wrong path of giving big business to local and foreign companies.

Govt’s further incentive for oligopoly

IN THE time of rising pressure from inflation, people are actually witnessing greed-flation, as the Economist put it, to indicate the rising greed of the powerful. The greed of the oligopoly in Bangladesh has risen to an unprecedented level; rivers, forests, open spaces, banks, public institutions, and mega projects have all fallen into their greedy hands.

In June, the government extended more support to protect the interests of these groups. For example, the ‘Income Tax Bill 2023’ passed on June 18, ‘abolished a provision for mandatory submission of wealth statement for persons travelling abroad’. The bill also made the Anti-Corruption Commission ineffective because it is not allowed anymore to get ‘access to tax, income, wealth and other related data of individuals under investigation for alleged corruption without a court order’. Secondly, the government also passed the Bank Company (Amendment) Bill 2023 on June 21 that extended the tenure of bank directors from nine years to 12 years, as suggested by the Bank Owners’ Association. After all the financial scams, this move is nothing but a green signal to the bank-looting oligopoly.

US sanction and visa restrictions

ON MAY 24, US secretary of state published a statement on visa policy for Bangladesh that said, ‘… Under this policy, the United States will be able to restrict the issuance of visas for any Bangladeshi individual, believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh. This includes current and former Bangladeshi officials, members of pro-government and opposition political parties, and members of law enforcement, the judiciary, and security services.’ However, the members of the ruling oligopoly may not need a new visa because most of them, if not all, and their families have US passports or at least green cards!

Before that, in December 2021, the United States declared the former Rapid Action Battalion director general ineligible for entry to the country and sanctioned the battalion’s five other serving and former officials for widespread allegations of serious human rights abuse in Bangladesh by RAB. This sanction apparently reduced extrajudicial killings in the country. However, the United States is yet to confess its responsibility for forming and strengthening the battalion and similar organisations in Bangladesh and elsewhere.

Yes, people desperately need a free and fair election where they can cast their vote.

Anu Muhammad is a professor of economics at Jahangirnagar University and the editor of quarterly magazine, Sarbojonkotha.