Following the end of the widespread Anti-Discrimination Student Movement protests, an interim government was established on 8 August, 2024. This marks a significant moment in the nation’s history, setting the stage for transformative developments ahead. The interim government now faces the daunting task of addressing numerous challenges, including restoring law and order, stabilising the economy, and reforming critical sectors like education and healthcare. The road ahead is difficult, but the nation’s hopes rest on this new leadership to lay the foundation for long-term stability and growth. Against this backdrop, discussions with citizens and experts are necessary to effectively address these challenges and develop recommendations that will help ensure a successful transition to stability while fostering avenues for growth.
In this context, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), organised a dialogue titled ‘Challenges and Responsibilities of the Interim Government: Perspectives of the Citizens’ on Wednesday, 14 August, 2024. The opening remarks was delivered by Dr Fahmida Khatun, Executive Director, CPD. The dialogue brought together around 200 participants, including 30 experts who shared their insights and recommendations for necessary reforms across various sectors. Altogether, the discussions yielded 70 concrete recommendations.
In her opening remarks, Dr Fahmida Khatun, underscored ‘The scope of the interim government’s actions will largely depend on the length of its tenure. Based on this, the necessary actions can be categorised into three groups. First, there are short-term actions, which could focus on improving law and order and initiating economic recovery within the first three months. Next, there are medium-term tasks, which the interim government will start but may either complete within its tenure or pass on to the next elected government. Finally, there are long-term initiatives that the interim government will begin, but which are intended to be completed by the subsequent government’.
She highlighted issues in law and order, such as the partial absence of law enforcement, looting and vandalism, a lack of public trust, attacks on minorities, low morale among officers, infrastructural damage, potential for future violence, and vacancies in top administrative positions. Dr Khatun also noted the need for long-term reforms and structural changes.
Dr Khatun pointed out that Bangladesh is facing several critical challenges, including insufficient revenue generation, ineffective management of government expenditures, and slow implementation of the Annual Development Programme (ADP). The country also contends with high levels of loans from state banks, rising inflation, increasing loan defaults, and a liquidity crisis in the banking sector. Additional issues include sluggish export growth, slow remittance flows, stagnation in private sector investment, depreciation of foreign currency reserves, rising import demand, significant currency devaluation, an overall economic slowdown, and limited availability of electricity and fuel. Compounding these problems is a pervasive issue of inconsistent and unreliable data.
‘In the social sector, significant reforms are needed in education and healthcare, including improving quality, addressing skill mismatches, removing political influence, and ensuring universal access,’ urged the Executive Director. Additionally, youth employment issues such as limited job opportunities, poor education quality, and barriers to entrepreneurship need urgent attention.
‘Corruption should be eradicated from all sectors of the government through strict law enforcement. This should be the top priority for the interim government’ emphasised the Student Coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, Ms Nusrat Tabassum. She also urged the government to ensure that illegally armed cadre forces affiliated with student politicians are permanently disbanded and that measures are put in place to prevent the formation of such forces in the future.
Mr Ahmed Mushtaque Raza Chowdhury, Former Chairperson, BRAC and Convener, Bangladesh Health Watch, urged ‘The government should implement a comprehensive rehabilitation programme for those injured during the recent movement, providing necessary psycho-social and financial support to help them recover’. He added that this programme should ensure that all affected individuals receive adequate care and assistance.
The Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BDjobs.com, Mr A.K.M Fahim Mashroor, recommended ‘The banking system should be restructured to facilitate easier access to loans for small businesses, particularly focusing on Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)’. He also suggested that the government should focus on strengthening MSMEs and creating opportunities for overseas employment to absorb the workforce. Additionally, Bangladesh Bank should reform its policies to facilitate loans for remittances and MSME improvements.
Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, Secretary, SHUJAN: remarked ‘The security forces, including the police, have collapsed, primarily due to their politicisation’. He urged that, in the short term, these forces should be rebranded and extensively trained to remain apolitical and loyal only to the government and the state, rather than any political party. This, he believes, will help restore law and order and prevent future collapses.
The open floor session of the dialogue was highly engaging and stimulating, eliciting a wide range of diverse recommendations from experts across various sectors.
It was discussed that Bangladesh should increase its energy reserves, particularly coal and LNG, and diversify its power sources to reduce dependency on other countries. Securing sufficient reserves to avoid external destabilisation was emphasised.
Participants highlighted the importance of achieving food independence or securing alternative import sources. They recommended dismantling corrupt syndicates, monitoring the commodity market, and prioritising domestic food production. The need for subsidies in the agricultural sector and securing diverse fertiliser supplies was also discussed.
Urgent enhancement of cybersecurity infrastructure was discussed, along with the dismantling of surveillance organisations. The need to address internet blackouts, support for freelancers, and reforms to the ICT Act and Digital Security Act were also highlighted.
Participants emphasised strict monitoring of fund distribution, eradicating corruption across all government sectors, and investigating corruption within the Securities and Exchange Commission. Recommendations included reallocating the budget, empowering the Anti-Corruption Commission, and investigating misappropriated funds. The development of independent rules of business and reforms in the labour court were also discussed.
The discussion highlighted the need for regulations ensuring remittance enters the economy legally and the protection of returned migrant workers. Participants recommended preparing a white paper to assess Bangladesh’s economic fundamentals before LDC graduation, suggesting a delay if necessary to ensure stability.
While talking about the Chittagong Hill Tracts the discussant highlighted the Indigenous communities’ consent in social forestry projects. Establishing a separate land commission and ministry for indigenous people and creating a legal framework for their protection was recommended.
Participants discussed the need for partnerships between the government and NGOs, simplifying the operational framework for civil society organisations, and creating platforms for student engagement in constructive activities.
The dialogue concluded with recommendations from Professor Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow, CPD. He urged the government to establish a platform for student movements that will serve as a guarantor to ensure that reforms are irreversible. This platform would actively engage students in the protection and continuity of these reforms, providing a safeguard against future rollbacks.
