Bangladesh: Government Should deliver more

The government should remember that it is for the first time the people of Bangladesh allow this government to run the country for the third time, so there is no excuse if they fail to satisfy the people. 

by Swadesh Roy

The present government has started its consecutive third terms. People gave them a verdict to give more delivery in every sector anticipating the continuation of a government is better for development. For any new government, it would take time to understand the government clearly, for they would design their own economy plan which would vary from the previous government, even they would cut down many economy plans from their previous government.

However, the people of Bangladesh were happy with the economy policy and the development of the Awami league led government of the last ten years, so they wanted this government to continue again. They thought that if the Awami league led government continued again, it would deliver more from the commencement day of the government because it would not be a new government, but a continuation.


In Bangladesh, the government has already passed four and a half months, a very short period of time, but in the west, there is a convention of counting one-hundred-days of any new government when people and the media do a review of these first one hundred days. Basically, they want to show the day through the morning. That is why many governments in the west arrange some programs in the first one hundred days. Although the present government of Bangladesh did not through any extra program for the first one hundred days, one of the leading research-based organizations in Bangladesh analyses the first one hundred days and in their press conference they said that the government couldn’t deliver any new and any extraordinary, but people are happy.

In this third consecutive term of the government, a main thing is that the Prime Minister has selected many new and young ministers, and another thing is that from the very first day the government is very much against any type of corruptions. Besides, the price of necessary commodity is stable. On the other hand, all the big projects, mainly the infrastructure building like coal-based big electricity plants, coal handling port, LNG port, the new seaport, and the remarkable Padma bridge construction are being continued as usual.

But if the government becomes satisfied with these things, they will make a mistake. They have to understand all of these are the continuation of their previous time’s job, and they have to remember that people allow them to run the government for the third term consecutively, so they have to do more new in this term.

Anyway, the government is going to project its new and the first budget of this term on 13 June. As we know, this budget will be a five lakh crore taka’s budget, and if it is a five lakh crore taka’s budget, it is nothing new, just the continuation of the last budget. So, the government should try to enlarge the size of the budget by making it a six or seven lakh crore. Now making a budget of six or seven lakh crore is not an impossible task or a big deal, for our internal market is huge and the money and size of this market is so big that it is easy to make a jump to this budget. To some extent, it is only depending on an optimistic mind; government can make a jump in its first budget. If the government makes a jump in its first budget, the total attitude of the government and its economy will be changed, and the people will be able to understand the result of having a government for the consecutive third-time.

Moreover, this budget should be the broader outline of the next four budgets, and it will be then basically the `morning shows the day.’ In this budget, it should be made clear that, after five years, where Bangladesh will go? Budget is never a copy of an accounting book, budget is not only the guideline of the economy of the government, for sure, it is a mirror on which the face of the government reflects. In this context, the first budget should be that type of magic mirror on which people can see the next five years.

After this budget, according to the guideline of it, the government should start with a full temperament to deliver new and more. The government should remember that it is for the first time the people of Bangladesh allow this government to run the country for the third time, so there is no excuse if they fail to satisfy the people. They should deliver more and even more than what they did last ten years in these upcoming five years. This is not a demand,this is their obvious duty.

Swadesh Roy, Senior Journalist, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is a highest state award winning journalist and can be reached at swadeshroy@gmail.com