Bangladesh needs 26 yrs to graduate from LDC

Finance Minister AMA Muhith said it would take Bangladesh another 26 years to graduate from the Least Developed Country (LDC) status.

"Our present status indicates that it would take us up to 2036 for the upward change in our position," Muhith said yesterday talking to a group of journalists at his hotel suite during the LDC conference in Dhaka.

Muhith said the country's target is to exit LDC status by 2021. He said this could be achieved if the government's development plan is implemented.

"To reach the target we have to take our GDP growth to 8 percent. If we could get 8 percent growth, we would start a move towards achieving our target by 2021. And even 10 percent growth could be achieved very soon."

The finance minister said, "Decentralisation of power and national budget is most necessary to step out from LDC by 2021."

"Why should the central government shoulder all the works? It can look after the foreign affairs, law and order and revenue collection, " said Muhith.

He said, "18 functions could be kept with the central government while 17 others delegated to the district administration." He, however, said the political will, which is necessary to implement these plans, is missing right now.

Bangladesh got its LDC membership in 1973 and for the last three decades it has been enjoying all the benefits of the group. The number of LDC countries is now 49.

On a question why Bangladesh is still an LDC the finance minister said, investment rate in Bangladesh is very low and the public investment scenario is worse--only 16 percent of the GDP.

"We do not get much foreign assistance either. Bangladesh receives only 2 percent of GDP from foreign assistance. It should have been higher," Muhith said.

"In the field of education, we failed to make much progress. And our status in health sector--especially nutrition and food security--is not good," the finance minister observed.

The finance minister said both the LDCs and the development partners are responsible for poor development situation in these countries. About development partners he said, they did not fulfil many of the commitments they made for development of the LDCs.

Despite this, in the recent times the LDCs made some progress but the food crisis and global meltdown in last two years ate up all the achievements.

Muhith also said, the LDCs are being affected much due to climate change. New measures should be taken to protect LDCs and recommendations in this regard would be placed in the LDC summit in Istanbul, Turkey next year.

Former finance adviser Mirza Azizul Islam yesterday told The Daily Star that both external and internal causes are responsible for Bangladesh still not being able to come out of LDC bracket.

Poor governance and administration, lack of efficiency and natural disaster caused much damage to the national economy, he said.

Azizul Islam added the country is not getting foreign assistance as expected. It is also denied duty and quota free market access to developed countries.

"We failed to increase per capita income which is one of the main indicators of graduating out of LDC status as our population growth outpaced the GDP growth, " said Azizul Islam.

Source:hedailystar.net/