Invisible Finance Minister and Panic Economy

 
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal acts like an invisible man. He can be hardly seen in public. That's why mysteries have come up about his activities. In the previous decades since independence Tajuddin Ahmed, Muhammad Abdul Munim, Wahidul Huq, M Syeduzzaman, Shah AMS Kibria, Saifur Rahman and AMA Muhith held the post of Finance Minister in Bangladesh. All these Finance Ministers were very active and engaged with media and other platforms.

State-owned banks of Bangladesh suffered a great deal of woes with loan scams and financial frauds during the period of former Finance Minister AMA Muhith. Later on after the resignation of Dr. Atiur Rahman from the Governor post of Bangladesh Bank, the status of private banks also got into perils and financial vices across the banking administration heavily augmented.

AHM Mustafa Kamal alias Lotus Kamal, for unknown reasons, has a hiding attitude to everything. He never comes up with clarifications or statements on the country's ailing financial and banking sectors. For this reason the economic parameters of Bangladesh cannot be measured locally or globally. Pro-people economy is not at all traced in Bangladesh. The country's economic standpoint has been broadly damaged by uncontrolled prices of daily commodities, inflation, dollar crisis and widespread corruption and irregularities across banks and financial institutions. Bangladesh's economy is moving like a boat without a rudder. We cannot reach our goals in this way with a trade deficit of 36 billion dollars which is ever highest in Bangladesh's history.

Financial sources have informed that as the Finance Minister is apparently inactive, the financial and banking turfs have moved into the hands of a particular group of bureaucrats. There are no guidelines for the future. No step has been taken for a consensus on how to run the country and how to resolve conflictual issues. A handful number of bureaucrats and business tycoons have sat on the driving seat of Bangladesh's economy reportedly. Though AHM Mustafa Kamal seems unnoticed, his personal income and the earnings of his own business firm have boomed.

Sonali Bank's Chairman Ziaul Hasan Siddiqui is known as a dynamic banker. Ziaul Hasan Siddiqui cannot drive forward his bank because of the invisibility of the Finance Minister. Ziaul Hasan Siddiqui also sometimes goes

out of vision. Owners of private banks hold zoom meetings and travel around the world scot-free. Financial regulators are not working in the
right way either.

In exception, Chairman of National Board of Revenue (NBR) Abu Hena Md. Rahmatul Muneem is working in a highly proactive and dynamic way which has made the revenue sector vibrant. The NBR Chairman has recently said that from now on 'revenue realization' will be said by tax officials instead of 'revenue collection' which will bolster people's confidence on NBR.

Banks and financial institutions are going through immense hardship because of the alleged failure of Finance Ministry. Now we are living in a tech-based world where there is no room for backdated leadership. Reportedly chain of command in the banking sector is breaking down because of the passivity of AHM Mustafa Kamal. At present nobody cares about the directives and instructions of the central bank. Managing Directors of different banks are being appointed through lobbying. Most of the Managing Directors of the scheduled banks have no experience of retail banking. As a result huge sums of money are being mishandled and siphoned off through corporate guarantee, mysterious loans and fake mortgages. Economists have blamed the Finance Minister's incapability for this phenomenon. A panicky situation is prevailing over the country's economy.

Promotions, recruitment and appointment of bankers in state-owned banks have been shifted to the Financial Institutions Division which has degraded Bangladesh Bank's authority and status. Nobody knows the true extent of defaulted loans in Bangladesh. Non-bank financial institutions, insurance companies, leasing companies are going down. Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) is trying to pull these organizations out of crisis but only reshuffling their boards of directors seems to be the only way to streamline these institutions.

Even some banks appointed directors without seeking permission from Bangladesh Bank and BSEC but no legal action was taken against them. Under these circumstances, it will be highly difficult for Bangladesh to tackle the imminent economic doldrums most likely to hit us hard in 2024. Integrated efforts are needed to overcome this challenge. Shares of only five banks are active in the stock market.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is working hard to keep Bangladesh's economy on the right track. Administrative sources have stated that the Prime Minister is on the lookout for an efficient Finance Minister. The Prime Minister is not listening to bureaucrats or oligarchs in this regard reportedly.

It should be noted that some foreign organizations confer awards like "Best Finance Minister", "Banker of The Year", "Best Governor" etcetera which happens only in case of countries where good governance and accountability are at stake.

While concluding, I would like to put confidence on the Prime Minister who has been running Bangladesh for last 15 years through a lot of ups and downs. I hope things will become alright under her leadership. To borrow a few words from Sheikh Hasina, "I devoted myself to the task of welfare of my countrymen-not as a ruler but as a servant."

Shoeb Chowdhury is a diplomat, entrepreneur, author, poet, sports organizer and Chairman, Editorial Board of The Asian Age.