“Remittance” The macro economy of Bangladesh is greatly and highly depended of some major factors from last 30 years. Remittances flowing from Bangladeshi working overseas, export of garments goods and accessories, jutes and leather finished goods, others small and medium manufacturing products, some of frozen fishes and food products, ship buildings are the most common. Actually, most of foreign export sectors such as garments industries are highly depended of imported raw materials and equipments from abroad (except remittance flowing by our abroad and migrant workers). As a result we can hardly save as a foreign currency reserve from these sectors due to highly expenditure of imported raw materials and equipment and consultant cost. On the other hand, Remittance is one of the greatest foreign earning sectors in our macro economy and it is also playing an important role to increase or animate positively our foreign currency reserve as a heart of our national economy. It is surely increased our per capita and national GDP. From last 1976 to still now about 6 to 8 million skilled, Semi-skilled and unskilled manpower has been exported to the abroad and they are still sending billion of dollars to our country as a remittance per a year. Actually, our honorable abroad workers, experts and migrants are sending average $11.48 billion dollars in our country per fiscal year as their wages, salaries or payments from last few years. Our migrant workers have sent $11.80 million dollars in our country on the month of April, 2013 and $12.30 million for the last March. A statistics shows that we have got $12.30 billion dollars as a remittance for the first 10 months July, 2012 to April, 2013 in a current fiscal year. On the other hand, our abroad workers sent total amount of $12.84 billion dollars remittance for the last fiscal year of 2011/2012. Annual remittance flow data (2006-2013) Year Remittance in $ Billion dollar comments 2012-2013 12.30 (10 months) Estimated 20 % 2011-2012 12.84 + 9.19% 2010- 2011 11.66 + 5.75% 2009-2010 10.99 + 11.74% 2008-2009 09.70 + 19.54% The statistics actually shows that the remittance flows are increasing from last five fiscal years rapidly and making strongly positive effect on our national foreign currency reserve and above all on our macro-economic management. It is great news that at present, our total currency reserve has been touched the $15.0 billion dollars line for the first time historically. It is also a great and positive achievement of our respectable nation and concern departments who have already taken a lot of plans and activities to increase our foreign currency reserve by exporting manpower to other countries as much as possible. It can surely eradicate our unemployment problems by 5% from the society. Our honorable government has recently started to export manpower under his own responsibilities to Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and some of new countries with a lowest or cheep processing and management cost although most of Middle East country closed to import our manpower from last three years. On the other hand, our largest Middle East job market Saudi Arabia is going to allow new work permit about 0.25 million illegal migrant as a legal workers and we may hope that next year they will obviously open the door of new job market for our skilled, Semi-skilled and unskilled workers. We are highly believed that our foreign remittance flows will be increased about $20.0 billion dollar per fiscal year from next 5 to 8 years reportedly. The recent threaten challenges of manpower export: our manpower exports are now facing a lot of challenges for some common and reasonable factors. Actually, unsteady and violent political situation is a major obstruction indirectly or directly of exporting manpower and strong economy management. On the other hand, our manpower exports are directly affected for the global economic depression which is continued from last 2008. Most of European countries and North America are now highly affected for the global economic depression. As a result, under economy crisis they are cutting out their national development budget and reducing to import migrant labors as much as possible. On the other hand, the Arab spring of Middle East are hampering seriously to export our manpower in the Middle East job market. Most of Middle East countries like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman etc. are not allowing and giving new work permit for the overseas workers due to internal restless political crisis and public discontent. As a result, our manpower exports markets are facing threaten challenges from the recent years. At last we can say that our honorable government, the ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment as well as our foreign embassy must work hard to increase our manpower export and should try to find out new sources of foreign job market as early as possible and also should immediately appoint some of intellectual lobbies and highly executives in those countries like Saudi Arab, Qatar, Oman, Malaysia etc. to overcome and secure this crisis friendly and positively. We also need to establish a lot of technical training and foreign language center in every upazilla to make skilled or semi-skilled workers largely for the future remittance flowing rescue. Sherazur Rahman, Assistant Teacher, Joykuri Government Primary School, Singra, Natore, Bangladesh. sherazbd@yahoo, 01714660050 Burden of foreign loan on our economy After independence, we inherited a devastated and sick economy from the Pakistani rulers and most of our economic and financial institutions were virtually demolished. We became highly dependent on foreign aid and food for a long period. From 1972 to April 2013, we received US$58.48 billion foreign loans and grants from different countries and organisations like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to eradicate poverty and to develop our socio-economic conditions. We got $34.08 billion as direct long-term foreign loan and $24.4 billion grants as charitable fund. At present, foreign debt of each person in the country is about Tk 11, 000 or $138. On the other hand, every year we have to repay an amount of $1.20 billion basic loan and interest. We already have spent millions of dollars for consultancy and expert fees for using this fund. But unfortunately, we have failed to use this huge foreign fund appropriately to reduce our poverty. When foreign countries or any financial institutions release a fund to us, they impose a lot of complex and critical terms and conditions for using those. Sometimes, they even try to play unnecessary role over our management of the national economy and politics. As a result, we have got very little opportunity to use these foreign loans and assistance in a right way. On the other hand, they never allow us to use the loan money for improving our industrial or productive sectors although the IMF, the World Bank and other organisations provided large funds to build some mega infrastructures like Bangabandhu Bridge and highways. They are really interested to invest in our education, health, sanitation, HIV, arsenic problems, rights of underprivileged children and women, micro-credit and so on. They always suggest us to use the fund through the NGOs or any third party. As a result, thousands of NGOs are working in our country mainly to provide high-interest and profit-based micro-credit loan to our poor and underprivilegedpeople.We must try to avoid foreign loan and assistance for future economic stability and development. We immediately need to increase our internal economic capabilities and foreign currency reserve. It is a great news that at present our foreign currency reserve is about $15.0 billion and we are achieving about 6.00 per cent national GDP growth on an average ever yfiscal year despite continuing global economic crisis from 2008. We have succeeded in strengthening our social security and development. Besides, the incidence of poverty has been reduced rapidly. We have succeeded in reducing gender discrimination in the society. So, we should follow the path of some developing countries like Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore and China which have already achieved the highest economic growth by executing long-term financial plan and strategy. They have also loosened their relations with the World Bank and the IMF. SherazurRahman,Assistant Teacher, Joykuri Govt Primary School,Singra, Natore, sherazbd@yahoo,
Posted on: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 06:31:11 +0000
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