Dhaka: Prime Minister's Information and Broadcasting Adviser Dr Zahed Ur Rahman today claimed that every institution in the country has been destroyed over the past one and a half decades during the fascist regime. He made these remarks while addressing a panel discussion at a national conference aimed at setting a five-year strategic framework for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Rahman highlighted that false information had been disseminated through manipulation, making it unreasonable to expect significant changes within just six months of the current government's tenure. He also emphasized that comparing Bangladesh with Sri Lanka would be inappropriate, as Sri Lanka faced economic mismanagement but retained government-elected institutions, which facilitated easier economic reforms.
Rahman further mentioned that an exaggerated view of the country's GDP size and growth had been portrayed. During the last years of the fascist Awami League regime, Bangladesh experienced stagnation and inflation. He urged the need to recognize the foundation on which the current situation stands, attributing ongoing challenges to the governance of the past 15 years.
He elaborated that the transition away from the entrenched mindset within police and state institutions developed over the past decade and a half is not simple. Many bureaucrats, he noted, have lost the knack for collaborating with an elected political government, which seeks quick results to showcase to the electorate. This urgency was absent in the previous 15 years, necessitating time for institutional reforms to take effect.
Economist Professor Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud chaired the panel discussion, which included notable participants such as Policy Exchange Bangladesh Chairman and Founder Dr M Masrur Reaz, retired University of Dhaka Economics Professor Abu Ahmed, Secretary of the Statistics and Informatics Division Md. Firoz Sarkar, and Secretary of the Finance Division Dr. Md. Khairuzzaman Majumder.