Currently Bangladesh.

২৯ শে আগস্ট, ২০১৬ দুপুর ১:২৫

Of all the issues currently affecting Bangladesh, the most talked about, most contentious, which I am very much concerned about and perhaps most important is the endemic, institutional corruption in the country, and how to get rid of it.

The essential point is that Bangladesh over the last five years has been shown to be the most corrupt country in the world. Causes of this corruption can be attributed to base human greed, exacerbated by the economic, social and political conditions of the country over the last thirty years that have allowed human greed to flourish unchecked. And of course the worst aspect of corruption is that it reproduces and replicates; the worse the corruption is, the greater the economic, social and political problems become, and the more attractive corruption practice is as a relief – for those able to take advantage. And so this downward spiral has continued throughout the life of Bangladesh, made worse by the false democratic legitimisation of the last 15 years.

How the corruption affects me personally, and the majority of the country, is the power supply. The electricity supply in Bangladesh at the moment is just awful. Currently, Bangladesh can only meet about 60% of demand for electricity, so the supply is rationed around the country, one hour here, one hour there, maybe two hours… so no matter how hard anybody, in any sector tries to improve their own life or the lives of the people around them, you can only do so much because anything that relies on using electricity, you just can’t rely on.This is because billions of taka has been looted out of the power industry over the last decade. Existing power plants haven’t been maintained properly, new ones haven’t been built, and demand has spiralled as urban development has rocketed unchecked and often illegally.

The very worst aspect of the power shortages though, is that it has the greatest and most negative affects on the poor. The rich have generators in their homes, big businesses have generators in their offices (including the VSO Bangladesh office) so no risk of losing your work when your computer goes off four times a day. Large shopping malls are being constructed all over Dhaka, and Sylhet, with huge demands on the power supply, just so the middle-classes and rich can buy consumer items 12 hours a day, whereas people in the villages have their routines governed by daylight. The interim administration has just issued an edict stating that these malls can no longer stay open after 7pm, which is certainly an advantage of not being beholden to electoral politics.

But there is no better illustration, to me, of the debilitating affects of corruption on a country than the power industry in Bangladesh. It so greatly enforces and maintains inequalities, acting as a barrier to economic and social development, and those responsible, who can afford generators for their big homes with their stolen money, just won’t see any of the negative effects of their theft while enjoying the benefits.

The country has some great people and the people are quite hospitable as well. But the bad ones have done such harm that only their horrible deeds come to the spotlight and the good things get shadowed by them. I feel bad for my Bangladesh. But still dream to build a better Bangladesh,together with all the other dreamers.

০ টি +১/-০