Reflections on my recent visit to Bangladesh
I was in
Bangladesh around the Christmas time. During this time of the year, many
couples get married, which allowed me to attend a few of such events, almost
every night I was in either Chittagong or Dhaka. Such events allowed me to
connect and chat with some old friends and relatives. As usual, we discussed
latest developments in the country; they also wanted to know about president-elect
Donald Trump and the upcoming days in the USA under his new administration.
In olden days, it
was customary to have the wedding parties in bride’s home and rarely in hotels
or convention centers or halls. Now it is just the reverse case with most
events held in convention centers/halls, which can cost anywhere from one
hundred thousand Taka (78 Taka is equivalent to 1 US dollar) to a million to rent
the place for half a day. These convention halls/centers can host anywhere from
few hundred guests to thousands. I am told that the demand for such centers are
so high that one must book at least six months in advance to avoid any
unpleasantness with planning such events. Obviously, most medium-income to
high-income earning city-dwellers don’t mind spending a hefty bundle for their
loved ones in such events, once again proving higher buying/spending power of many
Bangladeshis these days. Fortunately for the guests, no gifts need to be
brought into a vast majority of these events where the hosts seek only
blessings for the newlyweds.
On the day I
landed in Chittagong from Dhaka, I was pleasantly surprised that my childhood
friend Babul’s (Anwar Chowdhury) daughter was getting married that day. I came
to the event with a small gift that I had bought in the USA (in case I attend
such events), and faced some resistances from my friend to accepting my gift
for his daughter. Ultimately, I succeeded to put the gift in his pocket.
I had the
opportunity to also attend a mejban
(an event in which thousands of people – mostly the poor, neighbors and friends
– are invited to eat food) in a relative’s paternal house in Sitakund, located some
22 miles from the port city of Chittagong. Some of my relatives came from Hong
Kong and the Far East to attend the event. (By the way: I missed our own mejban
hosted by my father in our Khulshi properties by just three days in which some five
thousand people were fed. Fortunately, my younger brother Shameem was able to
attend the event.)
I was also able to
attend my old friends from the BUET Group-77 on the 30th of
December. They have been hosting such reunions every year for nearly 40 years.
However, this was my first one in all these decades. With everyone growing old
and some having changed drastically physically, it was difficult for me to
recognize many of my old classmates. Nonetheless,
it was a pleasant event to recollect our old days.
Some of my BUET friends
are in the real estate business, which has been suffering terribly. They blame government
policy of imposing unusually excessive sales tax for the trouble. Many
construction projects, thus, remain unfinished; those that are complete don’t
have buyers. Unless this flawed policy of excessive sales tax is corrected,
they see little hope of any recovery. This is disastrous because of the value
housing sector creates in boosting the overall economy for a developing country.
If the government of Sheikh Hasina is serious about growth and prosperity for
all, it must seriously look into this matter and correct the problem
immediately.
Any visitor to
Bangladesh cannot miss the obvious signs of massive infrastructure development projects,
esp. in the Roads (including railway) and Highways sector, that are underway. Inter-city/town
highway/freeway and rail communication service is going through a massive
overhaul under Hasina administration and has significantly eased the pain of long-distance
commuters significantly. Railways runs on time without any delay. However,
commuting inside any city is a different story. It is a nightmare for most
commuters! Although some overpasses (locally called ‘flyovers’) are being built,
the city planners have not been able to keep up with the phenomenal growth of
city population. With manually paddled tri-cycle rickshaws equally competing
with other motorized vehicles in many inner city roads, as expected, their slow
speed is dictating the pace in most roads. Waiting in a road junction can take
several minutes, adding to frustration of everyone. As a result, the number of
trips that a rickshaw puller or a taxi driver could do is decreasing
significantly, which makes it very difficult for them to survive on a dwindling
income.
The capital city
of Dhaka is a megacity with a population in excess of 18 million people with
another 6 million people coming daily from adjoining towns for their work. It
is now ranked
11th amongst the major megacities in our world, just behind New York
City. [In 2030, Dhaka is expected to have a population of more than 27
million.] Chittagong has a population of 8 million with another 2 million
floating commuters. No new roads have been built within the city limits except
some overpasses. So during rush hours, which can last from no later than 8 a.m.
to until no earlier than 10 p.m., commute inside any of these major cities
could be very time consuming. Just a car commute from the Dhaka’s international
airport to Shahbagh area can take anywhere from an hour to five hours,
depending on the traffic jam.
Many of my entrepreneurial
friends who are still active tell me that they spend four to six hours a day on
the road sitting in their cars while trying to attend to their businesses or meetings
or returning home. I had some taste of such painful commuting experiences
anytime I tried to meet someone or attend an event.
Added to their
daily commuting pains are the loud sirens stemming from passing ambulances that
they must bear. Many of the hospitals happen to be in the heart of the cities,
which bring in patients that need emergency care. Ambulance sirens have, thus,
become a regular nuisance for city-dwellers. I, however, failed to understand
the rationale behind such sirens given the fact that there is no space
available for other vehicles to make room for these ambulances. Already 4-lane roads
are being used bumper-to-bumper as if these are meant for 6-lane traffic. So,
no one gives or can afford to make space for any ambulance to move faster. Most
city roads during rush hours look like parking lots with very little movements.
I wish hospital
authorities and municipal authorities had looked into this chronic problem and
banned sirens when such are not delivering their intended results.
Sirens from the
ambulances are not the only avoidable pains for city dwellers. They must also
endure similar loud sounds or horns from vehicles carrying dignitaries –
ministers, judges, etc. And they are too many of such dignitaries in Dhaka! For
a gridlock city like Dhaka it goes without saying that unless all major government
offices (plus the secretariat), including the prime minister’s office, are
moved away from the heart of the city commuting pains are not going to ease away
any time soon. In the meantime, the government may like to seriously consider using
helicopters for commuting its ministers. Such measures can do wonders in terms
of reducing lost hours of most commuters.
What surprised me
most is that price of most food items are much higher in Bangladesh than here
in the USA. The only exceptions seem to be rice and vegetables. Even though
salaries of all employees have gone up several fold, most low-wage earners can ill-afford
to eat meat in weeks.
Salaries have gone
up for all employees, esp. those employed in the government sector, which
remains the most corrupt organ within the society. Since coming to power, the
Hasina administration has also been providing multiple bonuses for government
employees, e.g., for the two Eid festivals and Bengali new year. Such
incentives and overtures, seen mostly as appeasements to strengthen or solidify
support for the ruling party, create undue pressure upon the struggling already
marginalized private sector, which employs more than 95% of the job force.
Already the latter is burdened with overtaxing, VAT and other forms of
government abuses like the bribes, so such ill-advised government policies to
appease the corrupt employees within the government sector are doing no good. Not
only are such flawed policies leading to monetary inflation these are also discouraging
employers from hiring new employees.
It should be
mentioned here that the rationale behind increasing salary and bonus payment
for the government employees was to deter them from indulging in bribery. Forgotten
there is a very basic understanding of human nature: reform of character needs
sticks and carrots. Simply feeding carrots do more harm than good. Thus, in the
absence of a viable check and balance system, bribery continues to be
institutionalized and shows no sign of ebbing an iota. It won’t be an
exaggeration to say that no government institution or ministry is free of this
curse.
In today’s
Bangladesh, if anyone wants to get something done from the government sector,
he/she must be willing to pay bribes. It is a sad commentary but a nasty fact tolerated
by most Bangladeshis!
In this case, let
me share a personal story. I had the opportunity of visiting a government
election/voting registration office in Chittagong that issues national ID
cards. This is part of the much-touted Digital-Bangladesh program, led by prime
minister’s son – Sajeeb Wazed Joy, which is meant for making life of all
Bangladeshis better. However, like most initiatives and programs in the
government sector in Bangladesh, it is infested with corruption.
Nearly a year ago,
a relative of mine had applied for her National ID card. She was given a small
sheet of the application form showing her application number. Nearly six months
ago, when the office was contacted to find the status, she was told that it was
not ready yet. Last month, when the same office was contacted, the young
government officer sitting behind the desk-top computer informed us that her
entire file was missing and that no information on her application was available
in the computer. He openly sought bribe to look into the matter. As of now, we
still don’t know whether he can find the ‘missing’ file, this in spite of
ultimately meeting his demand for extortion/bribe money (commonly called ‘speed’
and ‘sweetening’ money). By the way, I am told by my friends and relatives that
such briberies have become the new norms in Bangladesh where every government
employee, with rare exceptions, preys upon ordinary citizens without any fear
of accountability. Something has definitely gone rotten in Bangladesh!
On my way to
Sitakund from Khulshi area of Chittagong by car, I noticed some heavy trucks that
had rammed into concrete dividers. Upon inquiry, I was told that many of the inter-city
trucks like to transport goods at night, and some of them can actually be sleep-driving
(some may even be under drugs), thus, getting into such accidents. Their choice
for driving at night is sometimes an imposed one because of the ban to enter a
city during day time; and sometimes it is solely to avoid (or reduce the
likelihood of) paying ‘passage’ money to all those extortionists – from on-duty
police (or their civilian agents) to local touts (mostly affiliated with the local
MPs) who demand a hefty money to let the truck go through. I am told that some
of the truck drivers end up paying nearly five to ten thousand taka for a single
trip of few hundred miles. This is the price that they must pay to transport
essential goods or provide services in Bangladesh! Where is Bangladesh heading!
While the number
of tax payers has somewhat increased, they only represent a small fraction of
eligible taxpayers. As a result, government taxation has gone up several folds in
recent years to pay for all the government projects. Most taxpayers see the
system highly oppressive and corrosive. Thus, the tendency to cheat is ever
increasing. Without any effective opposition within the Parliament, budget
discussion has become a joke! Whatever budget is formulated and presented by
the finance minister eventually gets approved, and the tax-paying citizens must
live with and pay for such government excesses.
I am reminded by
some of my friends who teach in universities that Bangladesh is now one of the
most taxed third-world countries. Unfortunately, tax-paying citizens are not getting
the needed benefits for their paid taxes. Most cities and towns remain filthy;
dumped garbage litter everywhere (esp. on the footpaths) and is rarely
collected on time; open sewerage is everywhere with clogged lines that are infested
with mosquitoes; pedestrian footpaths are rarely accessible for walking (because
of vendors, dumped garbage, etc.); many roads remain unrepaired in many towns
and cities; quality of drinking water is bad; and the list goes on adding
people’s miseries and sufferings.
City municipal
taxes in Chittagong city is about 17% on the income. However, to harass
apartment or building owners often the tax collectors would put an estimate that
is as high as the total income drawn from such assets. Again a personal story
may suffice to convey the message here.
My father owns a
3-story house ‘Prantik’ (of approx. 2,500 square feet per floor on Zakir
Hossain Road in East Nasirabad, Khulshi thana, Chittagong) where my siblings
and I grew up some half a century ago. Nearly ten years ago, my parents
converted the house to a women’s dormitory so that college/university going female
students and young professionals can reside there for an affordable rent. The
management of this facility (called ‘Shanti Niketan’ hostel) is handled by a distant
cousin of mine. We collect fifty thousand taka as rental money per month from
her. However, last year, the city corporation tax was estimated at Taka 7,00,000,
which is more than total collected rental in a year (i.e., Tk. 6,00,000).
Forget that there are other incidental expenses to upkeep the facility, and that
according to City Mayor’s office while only a max. of 17% of the income (which
is only Tk. 102,000) should be paid as tax, the corrupt tax collector wants us
to pay seven times that amount. That is what is happening in today’s Bangladesh
where ordinary law-abiding, tax-paying, and honest citizens are victimized by
government agencies at every level. These rogues behave worse than the marauding
borgyis and marathas, and firingyi and magh pirates of the pre-British era.
The
Anti-Corruption Commission has long been made a tooth-less tiger to fight
corruption or ease the pains of ordinary citizens. Worse yet, there are
accusations that some of the agents may even be dishonest who are willing to
overlook crimes and corruption for a negotiated price.
All the malaise
simply saddens me. After all, the liberated Bangladesh (Bangabandhu’s dream - Sonar
Bangla) was supposed to make things better for all its nationals – away from
exploitation of any kind, and surely not by government or its agents. Instead,
every new day is turning out to be a worse day than the day before! That is not
a healthy sign for a country that wants to become a thriving democracy and
economy in the 21st century.
But who will fix
the problem when corruption has engulfed the entire society and people are
forced to pay haram money just to
survive? It is said that when the head of the fish is rotten there is nothing
good in that fish! May God help us all!
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