NO FRILLS
Dhaka-Chattogram Highway: Why no feasibility study?
When policy planners undertake a major connectivity project like the Dhaka-Chattogram highway expansion, which serves as a lifeline for our exports, one would expect that they would do what reasonably well-informed policymakers in other countries do, i.e. conduct
Aramco attacks: Fuelling the fire
Fingers are being pointed at Iran for the drone attack on two major Saudi Arabian oil facilities set ablaze on September 14. While the sabre rattling picks up the tempo, and despite reassurances by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) that strategic oil reserves will be deployed to stabilise the market, price of oil has shot up in the global markets.
Making the most of BRI
A daylong dialogue organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) on September 8 brought together participants from Bangladesh and some South Asian countries, as well as from China. Among them were high-level policymakers, political leaders, academics and
Donors’ interest in Rohingya crisis waning?
By all indications, yes, it is waning. Not from ours, but from the perspective of the international donor community that has been providing humanitarian support to the million or so Rohingyas stranded on Bangladeshi soil for two years now. The data speaks for itself.
Getting a rotten deal on rawhide
The recent debacle over the purchase of rawhides after Eid-ul-Azha raises some important concerns. The government had fixed the prices of rawhides of cows and buffaloes at Tk 45-50 per square foot in the capital city of Dhaka and Tk 35-40 elsewhere. The price of the rawhide of castrated goats was fixed at Tk 18-20 per square foot, while it was Tk 13-15 for that of non-castrated goats. This year, some 1 crore animals were sacrificed across the country. Forty-five percent of these animals were cows, bulls and buffaloes, according to rawhide traders.
Socio-economic impacts of the Rohingya influx
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in association with the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) and the local administration of Cox’s Bazar, unveiled the findings of a joint impact assessment study on July 25, 2019. The report titled “Impacts of the Rohingya Refugee Influx on Host Communities” looks at the impact of the massive influx of Rohingyas on the host communities and how it has affected the long-term development needs of Bangladeshis living in the affected areas.
Foreign assistance boosts infrastructure development
During the five-day state visit by PM Sheikh Hasina to China on July 2-6, Bangladesh and China inked some important deals—five agreements including three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and other agreements that included investment in the power
Bringing more people under the tax net
The finance minister recently stated that it is the government’s intention to bring 10 million people under the tax net.
Runaway cost of living
People, particularly those who belong to the lower income groups, have been reeling under the weight of rising cost of living for some years now.
A graveyard for ships and men
According to a report published by this paper on October 22, “Bangladesh was the top buyer of scrapped ships in the world in the third quarter of 2017, followed by India,” as stated by the Brussels-based Shipbreaking Platform.
It's all about the oil
While the world's focus is now squarely on the United States' (US) spat with Iran and North Korea, there may be trouble brewing elsewhere and that is northern Iraq.
The rise of OBOR
Bangladesh has formally joined the China-led One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative a day after the Trump administration joined India in its opposition to OBOR.
Foreign workers' tax evasion
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has declared its intention to go after both the companies hiring foreign nationals and individual foreign nationals working in the country on the issue of tax evasion.
New challenges in implementing the Indian LoC
To put all this in perspective, when we talk about building roads, how viable is it to seek prior permission for each purchase of raw materials involving bricks, sand, rods, cement or other construction material?
Why another hike in power tariff?
The general trend has been to pass on “losses” sustained by state-owned entities to retail and bulk consumers alike without so much as reducing a part of their profit or efficiency. Does the government care for rewarding efficient management and cost saving enterprises?
Are state-owned banks bottomless baskets?
The issue of non-performing loans (NPLs) have now reached a phenomenal amount. As of June, defaulted loans amounted to Tk 63,365 crore, which is 10 percent of total outstanding loans (as per Bangladesh Bank data).
Haor project in a shambles?
It was dogged by mismanagement from inception and has seen 11 project directors come and go, and now we know from media reports that lawyers in the most adversely affected district of Sunamganj sued 140 people, including BWDB officials and contractors for negligence and “irregularities” in construction of embankments that collapsed back in April.
A disaster in the making
The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) stated at the end of July that an international tender will soon be floated for privatising port operations. This is a move in the right direction.