BNP will ensure economic democratisation if elected: Amir Khasru

Economic democratisation would be implemented if the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) comes to power through people's votes, BNP Standing Committee member and former commerce minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said today (22 December).

"Democracy cannot be established through political change alone if people are excluded from economic participation and do not share in the benefits of growth. If real democracy is to be established, the economic rights of the people of Bangladesh must be restored. We do not want to see politics based on patronage in the country," he said while speaking as the chief guest at a programme at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Chattogram Bay View.

The event was a business dialogue on trade, commerce, the economy and investment, organised by the Chattogram Divisional Business Forum, with representatives from various business forums and trade bodies of the division in attendance.

He said businesspeople had told him they want to operate in a supportive environment, with clear policies and the freedom to do business.

"Bangladesh is a highly regulated country. Opening a restaurant requires approvals from 19 to 21 authorities, while obtaining environmental clearance for shipbreaking can take up to two months," he said.

"We have to move away from a situation where every business is overregulated across sectors," he added.

"So our policy is to pursue serious deregulation," he said, adding that Bangladesh ranks very low in terms of economic liberalisation and ease of doing business.

Recalling his tenure as commerce minister, Amir Khasru said leaders of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) once told him they needed utilisation declaration certificates, which were then issued by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

He said obtaining these certificates involved harassment and demands for unofficial payments.

"Businesspeople asked me to 'fix' the EPB. Since it was powerful, I told them the authority to issue utilisation declaration certificates should be taken out of the bureau and handed over to the BGMEA. Now they issue the certificates themselves," he said.

He added that many protests were launched against him over the decision because issuing the certificates had been a source of cash income for the bureau.

"If we are given responsibility in the future, we will remove whatever is being blocked by bureaucracy," he said.

"We will ask business organisations to build capacity and operate properly, professionally, independently and transparently, so that many responsibilities of the government can be handed over to them," he added.

Emphasising the need to expand employment, Amir Khasru said small and medium enterprises are the main contributors to the economy.

"Economic growth is not possible without increasing employment, and gross domestic product will not rise unless job creation expands," he said.

"BNP has pledged to build a $500 trillion economy, but this would not be possible without the growth of small and medium enterprises," he added.

To support this, he said facilities such as bonded warehouses and back-to-back letters of credit, similar to those available in the readymade garment sector, would be ensured for all export-oriented sectors.

"There should be no need for businesses to move from office to office," he said, adding that automation must be introduced to reduce physical contact.

"Physical contact between businesspeople and government officials must be kept to a minimum," he said, adding that this should apply not only to businesses but also to ordinary citizens.

He also said technology would be used in the future to reduce harassment at ports and shorten container release times.

"Only 2% of cargo will be inspected, and that too through algorithms and software," he said.

"As a result, there will be no discretionary decision-making by customs officials. Corruption and extortion will no longer exist," he added.

During the dialogue, businesspeople raised various problems they face and spoke about sector-specific barriers and possible solutions.