Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
Bangladesh is approaching a potential “political and social earthquake”, prominent economist and Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Distinguished Fellow Debapriya Bhattacharya warned on Thursday.
Speaking at a book-launch event at the Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) in Dhaka, Debapriya said the bureaucracy had significantly enabled the previous government’s financial mismanagement, and that the country’s long-hidden banking sector vulnerabilities are now fully exposed. “If we have to name two or three individuals, the head of the central bank would be among the key accused. His wrongdoing is very serious because it was his responsibility to ensure accountability and transparency,” he said.
He noted that recent forensic audits revealed the true scale of non-performing loans (NPLs), provisioning shortfalls and reserve deficits. “In truth, you did not know your body had so many illnesses. Now that these have been identified, you are feeling alarmed,” he said, urging calm.
Bhattacharya criticised the interim government’s crisis response, questioning the efficacy of moves such as merging five banks, appointing administrators and revising parts of the Banking Companies Act.
He also raised concerns over the hurried announcement of foreign investment proposals, including the leasing of a terminal at Chattogram port, saying decisions taken under NDAs “lack transparency.” “Announcing massive foreign investment commitments within just 13 days is unrealistic. Large decisions do not last without stakeholder participation,” he added.