July 20, 2004

BANGLADESH'S IMAGE PROBLEM

Bangladesh is doing better than most less developed countries. But the image of Bangladesh as seen by outsiders is really not good because of the confrontal nature of Bangladesh politics. The backbiting and negative propaganda between the political parties are actually undermining the achievements. The ruling parties think that the opposition, who were in the previous tenure had ruined the country with wrong decisions and corruption. They think that they have lifted the image of the country immensely with their good deeds since they are in power and really can do without the oppositions contributions. However the oppositions think just the vice-versa. This backbiting nature is carried forward across the electoral cycles and consumes most of the parliament sessions, as if nobody has anything better to do. The political leaders almost always fail to reach a consensus on major national issues and never try to sort them out. Instead they fight with each other at the cost of the nation's prosperity and people's wellbeing.

Political intolerance, violence and deterioration of law and order situation, together with a nexus between the police and the criminals, are scaring foreign direct investors away from this country. Like many Bangladeshis, foreign specialists who are working in this country are deeply frustrated because despite a broad consensus amongst the people, politicians, and the foreign advisors on what are needed to be done in Bangladesh to get results, the same are not happening because of lack of political will and commitment of the successive governments to implement them. The country's politicians mostly are emotion-driven and not the thinking-type and are also incapable of seizing the opportunity when it shows up. While one political party tries relentlessly to remove the other from power, the problems keep mounting; opportunities are missed, and rest of the world surges forward, leaving Bangladesh far, far behind.

0 comments:

Post a Comment