๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ‘๐๐ก๐ข๐ญ๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ’?
A white paper is a comprehensive document that presents an authoritative report on a
specific issue, often used to inform and guide decision-making processes. It is designed to inform decision-making processes, propose solutions or present recommendations for an action.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก
The interim government of Bangladesh, formed after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s
autocratic regime, has recognized the necessity of a comprehensive white paper to assess the
state of the economy and the extent of corruption. Under the direction of economist
Debapriya Bhattacharya, the twelve-member White Paper committee, established on August
29 by the interim government, handed in its report to Chief Advisor Prof Muhammad Yunus
on December 1. The Committee prepared the report based on the Global Financial Integrity
Reports (GFIRs) and certain assumptions.
โ๐พ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐โ
โ Debapriya Bhattacharya
๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
The White Paper Committee has identified 28 dominant channels of corruption. Some notable sectors are discussed below:
๐๐๐ง๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ:
The White Paper on Bangladesh’s economy highlights various dimensions of corruption within Financial sector, providing a comprehensive analysis of its causes, manifestations, and consequences.
The Paper compared the banking sector to a blackhole. The banking system has been highlighted as the most corruption-ravaged scams, plagued by loan takeovers, and politically motivated lending.
โข Bank takeovers with the help of state agencies
โข Annual illicit outflows averaging USD 16 billion-over double the combined foreign aid and FDI inflows.
โข Banking blackhole exceeded Tk6.75 lakh crore at the end of FY24, equivalent to the cost of constructing multiple large-scale infrastructure projects, such as 14 Dhaka Metro systems or 23 Padma Bridges.
โข These distressed assets account for 31.7 percent of the total bank loans as of June 2024.
โข 10 crisis-hit banks, mostly Shariah- based banks, are technically bankrupt and illiquid.
โข These 10 banks constitute 33 percent of the total loans and 32 percent of the total deposit of the banking sector.
The distress is even larger when the bad loans of the non- bank financial institutions (NBFIs) are accounted for.
๐๐ก๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐:
Public infrastructure projects are riddled with politically motivated unviable projects, inflated project costs, non-competitive tender processes, and awarding overpriced contracts to influential individuals. Large projects were taken up with the taxpayers’ money. But no one ever saw any feasibility study for those projects.
โข Public projects have escalated costs by 70% on average.
โข These projects caused delays exceeding
five years.
โข More than 30% of development project funds were misappropriated, translating to a loss of Tk 1.61-2.8 lakh crore.
โข Between Tk77,000 crore and Tk98,000 crore simply went to government officials. A range of Tk70,000 crore-Tkl.40 lakh crore were extortions by politicians and their accomplices.
๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ:
Ex prime minister held additional responsibility as minister for the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources since 2009 and every single deal from a small solar plant to a mega project like Adani was approved by the Prime Minister’s Office. Energy contracts and power purchase agreements have apparently been manipulated for political and commercial advantage.
Non-competitive tendering procedures and inflated project prices are frequent, consuming resources and creating inefficiencies that restrict energy delivery.
โข Awarding power plants in the form of commission.
โข $30 billion was spent on power generation projects, with at least 10 percent siphoned off, amounting to $3 billion in kickbacks.
โข The total excess capacity payment would not be less than Tk36,000 crore in the last 15 years, from total capacity/rental payment to the private sector of approximately Tk1.15 lakh crore.
๐๐๐ฑ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง:
Systematic tax evasion, exploitation of exemptions, and poorly managed public finances have deprived the state of critical resources, impeding progress.
โข Halving tax exemptions could double education funding and triple health allocations.
They looted openly, creating a reign of fear so pervasive that even international economic watchdogs remained silent.
๐๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ:
The paper reveals systemic inefficiencies in social protection programs, where 73% of beneficiaries are classified as non-poor, leaving millions of vulnerable individuals without support.
๐๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง:
According to the paper, over the last decade, Tk13.4 lakh crore has been funnelled through hundi transactions by syndicates of recruiting agencies and their exploitative recruitment practices for visa purchases.
โข 4 Dhaka MRT Line 6 would be possible to make with this money.
๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
The White Paper on the State of the Bangladesh Economy provides a detailed analysis of the causes and extent of corruption in Bangladesh, highlighting systemic issues across various sectors. Here are the key points derived from the findings:
๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐จ๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ง๐๐ง๐๐:
The findings suggest a correlation between economic irregularities and the political landscape, questioning whether corruption has instigated autocratic governance or if autocracy has facilitated economic misconduct. This relationship indicates that a self-centric political environment without accountability has exacerbated economic issues.
‘๐๐ก๐๐ฆ๐๐ก๐’ ๐๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ข๐๐๐:
Political legitimacy is essential for every administration to thrive. That problem of political legitimacy began with fraudulent election in 2014. The development story acquired momentum from then.
A development narrative had been created at the time to cover up their corrupt economy. And autocratic politics was required to uphold that development narrative.
The endeavor to offer legitimacy to such development gave rise to a significant leap in crony capitalism. And eventually crony capitalism gave birth to the Oligarchs, who controlled the policy framing.
The “overdose” of “Unnoyon” (development) glorified the few “rights” (Padma Bridge, Dhaka Metro) and justified the many blatant “wrongs” (corruption).
๐๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง:
The report identifies a nexus among politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen, and civil society members, which has fostered a culture of corruption. This collusion allows for systemic fraud and mismanagement to thrive, undermining accountability.
A handful of business groups would benefit from state policies. The elite at the centre of ruling politics were with them, as well as a section of civil and military bureaucrats. They created a group and tried to give the development narrative a permanent shape.
๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง:
The report indicates that economic irregularities have rendered institutions non- functional and irresponsible. This dysfunction has led to deviations from necessary policies and reforms intended to address corruption and improve governance.
โข Subordination of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) for political
appeasement.
โข Bangladesh Bank, has been compromised by collusion between top officials and influential outsiders, especially during the period from 2015 to 2024.
โข National Board of Revenue (NBR) took up
many initiatives, but these were not implemented.
โข Many audit objection reports were submitted, but the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) took no measures.
๐๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง:
There are claims of irregularities in data reporting, particularly regarding GDP growth, tax ratios, and government expenditures, which do not accurately reflect the economic reality. Political influence on data generation and reporting reached an unprecedented high under the past regime, the White Paper says.
The paper debunks the last decade and a half into the paradox of the fastest growth economy, claiming that the “fastest” element of the narrative is a fabrication of distorted measurement. The growth rate was overstated while inflation was under- reported to support the claim of the fastest growth economy.
โข The genuine inflation rate may have been in the 15-17 percent range, rather than the CPI’s 9-11 percent recorded by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
