05-02-2022

SaTUrDaY, feBrUarY 5, 2022
4
Why do police attacks on students happen?
Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam
e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com
Saturday, February 5, 2022
FDI:Fresh
outlook needed
THE Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) issue in Bangladesh
lacks a coherent and comprehensive outlook and
commitment of ensuring doors of accesses in investment.
There is widespread notion that the policies are FDI friendly. But
the reality tells a somewhat different story.
There are some undeniable hurdles to the investment
climate which challenge the FDI growth and reduce the chances
of booming in the sector. These recurrent issues are pointed to
lack of proper governance, slow paced bureaucracy, shortage of
energy resources and proper infrastructural facilities.
The FDI has seen a surge in manufacturing and service
sectors in recent inflows. In current decade, Bangladesh
witnessed a huge shift in sector-wise and country-wise FDI
inflows. It changed from import-substitutes to export oriented
manufacturing. Besides, the country received FDI from 36
different countries, both developed and developing countries
across the globe. Some 70% of total FDI inflow is from 11 countries
but the major investors are from the EU members and the USA.
In recent times the expected FDI is aspired to be from 24% to 32%
of the economy. But how the benchmark could be achieved, is yet
to be vividly clear, both to the concerned authorities and the
investors. A country's regulatory framework consisting of a set of
commercial laws and regulations and the institutions
established for their enforcement, should have transparency and
economic aspiration in mind.
But when these regulations are designed and implemented
in inefficient and arbitrary manner, then it alienates any future
interest from foreign investors. Some years back, cell phone
manufacturing giant Samsung came to Bangladesh to assess
setting up large scale mobile phone factory. It sought a 2000
acre land in BEPZA but that didn't happen. Lack of a timely
decision deprived the chances of tapping the international
cellular phone market.
Rather than protecting the rights and obligations of the
investors and assisting the smooth functioning of the market,
sometimes the regulations bring in unprecedented complexities
and obstructions.Sportswear giants Nike, Reebok and Adidas
planned to shift manufacturing plants from China to Bangladesh
in 2010, they sought only 65 acres of land. But they were not
provided with the land whereas some 1700 acres of land are there
as abundant land in state owned factories, according to report of
the privatization commission.
It is recurrent experience that overpowering bureaucracy is not
compatible with an environment conducive to FDI growth.Some
other challenges are power supply, high inefficiency cost, absence
of autonomous regulatory bodies, taxauthority's discretion, time
wasting customs processing etc.
From the Mckinsey & Company Report , some 54 percent of
CPOs shared their plans to decrease their sourcing activities in
China. If a certain share of this percentage could be attracted with
proper policy guidelines, Bangladesh could have easily surpassed
China in the apparel industry.
Garments industry is the biggest example of success where the
government incentives and policy supports have made the total
economy exceptionally vibrant. It is now the highest forex earner
and in 2013 the amount amounted to $20 billion.
Very recently, government settled for lower tax at sources to
0.3 percent from 0.8 percent. Centre for Policy Dialogue have
estimated that government might lose an amount of Tk500 crore
as advanced income tax (AIT).
However, the proportional growth supported by the tax cut
would automatically increase the total export earnings as well as
create more jobs, adding total economic value. If the FDI is geared
up with visionary policy supports and implementations, it would
be no wonder that big multinationals will hit Bangladesh market
for outsourcing.
While Toyota, Honda and Ford look forward to India as
outsourcing center, Bangladesh certainly possess competitive
edge for its cheap labor market. Not only in automobile sector,
FDI could hit record, making ways for Bangladesh towards a
well entrenchedmiddle-income country if technical and
strategic issues are fixed.
FDI enables a country like Bangladesh to build up
physical capital, create employment opportunities, develop
productivecapacity, enhance skills of local labor through transfer
of technology andmanagerial know how, and help integrate the
domestic economy with theglobal economy.
However, Bangladesh stands in the back row in attracting
FDIs. Despite the grounds, there is a positive side of the FDI
phenomenon. A Pew Global Attitudes Survey, conducted by Pew
Research Center, showed a remarkable positive attitude towards
foreign companies. When asked whether they had a positive
impact, a large number of people in countries like Brazil, India and
Bangladesh said yes. The survey was conducted in 47 countries
and of them, it was found some 75 percent of the respondents from
Bangladesh bear better positive attitudes towards foreign direct
investment than those of in India and Brazil.
This FDI friendly approach might have been developed from
the contribution to Bangladesh economy of the 189 members of
Foreign Investor's Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).
The combined contribution of FICCI members exceeds 30% of
total tax revenue collected by the government.
In recent times it was found that some of the reputed foreign
companies paying highest taxes to government have received
unlawful claims from government authorities.The basis of these
claims is contradictory to the existing laws of the land. It is
further noted that there have been no such observations on local
companies operating in the same industry.
To ensure an even playing ground, a common and general
policy is needed to encourage all types of FDIs in Bangladesh.
Accountability and transparency must be ensured in all stages,
predictable rules for investment and a sound legal framework
for all as well as a political promise from contending parties to
make the FDI a big fish for total economic development. Since
the developing economic trend of any country can be identified
by its FDI and export scenario, it is high time all parties acted
coherently.
Recently a movement has spurred in
the campus of Shahjalal University of
Science and Technology (SUST) in
Sylhet. The students are demanding the
resignation of Vice Chancellor (VC)
Professor Farid Uddin Ahmed after a police
attack on students and the closure of the
university. More than five hundred students
of the university took part.
Earlier, the students clashed with the
police in the wake of the students'
movement demanding three points and the
protesters blocking the way of the Vice-
Chancellor. Police used batons, sound
grenades, and tear gas to disperse the
protesters. At least 50 people including
police, teachers, and students were injured.
The students alleged that the police carried
out the attack on the instructions of the VC.
During this demonstration, instructions
were given to close the university and vacate
the residential halls. Protests intensified as
soon as the authority published the orders.
And in this case, the police have filed a case
against more than three hundred students
of the university! And behind this incident is
the resignation of the principal and assistant
principal of Begum Sirajunnesa Hall of the
university, removal of all mismanagement
of the hall to ensure a healthy and normal
environment and movement of several
hundred students in the hall demanding
appointment of student friendly and
responsible principal committee. And the
main reason for the student movement is
the mismanagement in the residential halls
and the abuse and arbitrary behavior of the
provost.
As soon as the television screen or the
magazine is opened, questionable incidents
against the students of SUST are coming up
one after another. And again and again the
question arises as to what was the crime of
Technology alone will not save us from climate crisis
ON what is known as Blue Monday -
the third Monday of the new year - I
set off in search of a cheerful topic to
write about. And since time and again we are
told that technology is likely to save us from
climate doom, I decided to browse through
some of the ideas and promising
developments that could save humanity and
the planet.
From the pig's tissue-based human heart
implant to the tearless onions finally going
on sale in British supermarkets, and from
how lab-produced meat replacements could
remove a chunk of the methane that is sent
into the atmosphere by cattle to talk of
fitting mirrors in the sky to deflect the sun's
rays and help cool our overheating planet.
All of these sound great and could allow
humanity to hope that all is not lost and
believe that technology and science are
conscience of those students which resulted
in such an incident! The incident repeatedly
made a healthy conscientious nation think.
This was the demand of the students of
Shahjalal University of Science and
Technology. Just as a child can express his
wishes and reluctance to his parents, so too
can university students express their
desires, wishes and aspirations to their
guardians at the university. That is a
university teacher or an administrative
officer in charge of that sector. The
responsibility of a teacher, such as
enlightening the students, enlightening
them or educating them as an enlightened
person is the responsibility of the teacher for
the good of the students and also the
responsibility of the students to see the good
and bad things of the students but not to
solve these problems. When the students
were beaten by the police, it took the form of
autocracy. Such is the case with the students
of SUST.
The supreme guardian of a university is
the Vice-Chancellor of that university. A
Vice-Chancellor has to keep his eyes and
ears open for all time. If a person in a lower
position makes a mistake, there is a person
in a higher position to correct or correct it.
But in order for a person with the highest
power or the highest position to take any
likely to save the planet on their own.
The COP26 climate change summit held in
Glasgow late last year failed to provide the
breakthrough that many had hoped for as
humankind attempts to find the agreement
necessary to ensure global warming is
limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial
levels. Though the US and China
issued a joint declaration to work together to
reduce emissions, blueprints for such work
might come very late, if at all. But on the third
Monday of January, one must stay
optimistic. Meanwhile, one hopes that 2022
will not resemble 2021 in terms of the
summer floods in China and Germany that
killed hundreds and destroyed crops or the
wildfires that ravaged Greece, Italy, Turkey,
Israel and Algeria. But that might be
ambitious, as all indications point to more of
the same, with humankind likely to continue
IMraN HOSSaIN
MOHaMeD CHeBarO
action, he must verify the truth of everything
and take action. It is the responsibility and
duty of the university to meet the needs of
the students. It is very normal for students to
have demands from the university. It is real
that the people in charge should be
informed about their demands, benefits and
disadvantages, and understand their rights.
Because a university student is much more
aware of his rights. Because he has to think
about others. If being a student of a
university cannot protest against injustice,
cannot understand one's own rights, then
the understanding of ordinary students will
as soon as the television screen or the magazine is opened,
questionable incidents against the students of SUST are coming
up one after another. and again and again the question
arises as to what was the crime of conscience of those students
which resulted in such an incident! The incident repeatedly
made a healthy conscientious nation think.
not be able to express their distant
condition.
If a student of one of the highest
educational institutions of the country
cannot call injustice unjust, then the next
generation will be prone to abuse of power,
the next generation will be speech impaired.
University students have to consider all
these.
One thing to think about in general is
when do people choose a difficult situation
or a crooked path? When do all the students
in a hall join the movement? When do they
unite for the realization of their rights? The
students of SUST, after a long period of
silence, started a movement to assert their
rights. They came together in a peaceful
its long sleepwalk to doom. The Netflix
movie "Don't Look Up," which caused a stir
recently, showed how modern day
individuals are unable to see beyond their
respective bubbles and be concerned about
impending catastrophe.
The most promising of the technologies I
looked into, which made me somewhat
hopeful, was a planetary-scale engineering
scheme designed to cool the Earth's surface
and lessen the impact of global warming. This
plan is based on so-called solar radiation
modification and it works by injecting billions
of sulfur particles into the middle atmosphere
in the hope of turning back some of the sun's
rays that warm our planet. However, my
happiness was short-lived, as it seems that
60-plus experts and scientists this week
warned governments and asked them to
block this process, stating that its
human chain to inform the administration
about their problems. But incidentally
university students have been humiliated by
the police. The police did not come inside
the university on their own. They did not
attack the students at will. At the behest of
any force they attacked the students!
According to the report, the student
movement started, mismanagement of the
hall and abuse and arbitrary behavior of the
provost.
The university administration cannot call
the allegations of mismanagement of the
university hall as false or fabricated.
Although the students conspired to slander
the provost, it was the duty of the university
administration and the vice-chancellor to
conduct a proper investigation and stand up
for justice in this regard. It is true that the
students blocked the vice chancellor. But the
students have blocked it to assert their
rights. To cure their issues unattended. For
justice. The Vice-Chancellor could have
easily solved this if he had wanted to.
Instead, such an attack on students by
pushing is not acceptable in any way.
University students have been beaten by the
police even before independence.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was
always by the side of the students as a result
of the attack on the students during the
Pakistani period.
But today, even in autonomous
universities, students have been attacked by
the police, which is a very disgusting
incident. Those involved in such barbaric
attacks on university students must be
brought under the law and appropriate
punishment must be meted out. Such
attacks on students are unacceptable.
Why Bangladesh needs inclusive society
Inclusiveness is the cornerstone of
Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs). Inclusiveness is the practice or
policy of providing equal access to
opportunities and resources for people
who might otherwise be excluded or
marginalized. If we disregard
inclusiveness, it would be tough to achieve
SDGs. People with Disabilities (PwDs)
comprise a large section of our
population, but they have been excluded
from the mainstream of our society. SDGs
are a collection of 17 interlinked global
goals designed to be a blueprint to achieve
a better and more sustainable future for
all. The SDGs were set up in 2015 by
United Nations General Assembly and are
intended to be achieved by the year 2030.
With the adoption of 2030 Agenda, UN
Member States pledged to ensure 'no one
will be left behind' and to 'endeavour to
reach the furthest behind first'.
In Bangladesh, we see that PwDs are
facing many barriers to inclusion in many
key aspects of our society. Hence, they have
been deprived of getting access to society on
an equal basis with others, which includes
areas of transportation, employment and
education as well as social and political
participation. They are mainly living a life of
poverty. They are entitled to government
support, but programmes have been limited
in scope and restricted to urban areas, and
the question of disability has not been
integrated into general development
programmes.
The PwDs can prove their worth and can
also contribute to the country's development
if they get necessary supports. They are
victims of discrimination and neglect due to
misconception about them.
Citing a survey of World Health
Organization (WHO), Blind Education and
Rehabilitation Development Organization
(BERDO) said, about 8%-10% people in
Bangladesh have impairment in somehow
or others. According to that tally, there are
roughly 17 million PwDs in our country.
PwDs have poor or little access to jobs,
different government services, training and
above all social justice. Their opinions are
not generally heard for and their rights are
often violated resulting in their
marginalization and exclusion. The
formation of a separate ministry titled
'Disability Ministry' is essential for
improving the condition of PwDs in respect
of job, education, skill development training,
ensuring social justice, assistance in natural
calamities, ensuring social security and
ending harassments to PwDs.
Md. Saidul Huq, Executive Director of
BERDO, said it would be helpful if a
separate ministry is in place. This ministry
would be helpful in increasing the social
status of the PwDs. There is a link between
national development and development of
PwDs. If the condition of PwDs is improved
with access to necessary support, they can
contribute to the national development, he
observed.
BERDO has been working to provide
education, employment, training and
medical services for the PWDs. In addition,
BERDO is implementing social
rehabilitation activities along with socioeconomic
development through income
generation activities. BERDO hope that
more rights-based organizations would be
established in the country and other
organizations currently working at
development sector should take up steps for
ensuring the rights of PWDs.
Initiatives have been undertaken at
national as well as international level to
MD. SazeDUL ISLaM
protect the rights of all the people. The UN
Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities (UNCRPD) was agreed on
December 13, 2006 by UN General
Assembly and came into force on May 3,
2008 to promote, protect and ensure the full
and equal enjoyment of all human rights
and fundamental freedoms by all persons
with disabilities, and to promote respect for
their inherent dignity.
Bangladesh government had ratified it on
November 30, 2007. After the ratification,
Bangladesh is bound to take up
SDGs were adopted by all UN Member States as a universal
call to ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by
2030. Through the pledge to 'Leave No One Behind', the
countries have committed to fast-track progress for those
furthest behind first.
programmes aimed at ensuring the rights of
PwDs.
SDGs were adopted by all UN Member
States as a universal call to ensure that all
people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.
Through the pledge to 'Leave No One
Behind', the countries have committed to
fast-track progress for those furthest behind
first.
In our country, there are two laws titled
'Persons with Disabilities Rights and
Protection Act 2013' and 'Neuro
Developmental Disabilities Act 2013', which
need to be implemented properly. PwDs are
not being included in different development
committees due to lack of full
implementation of the laws. Rights of the
PwDs have been clearly identified and
defined in clause No. 16 of that law. Those
are accessibility, full and active participation
of PwDs in social, economic and state
activities according to nature of disabilities;
protection from oppressions, and safe and
healthy environment; accepting Sign
The writer is a student of
Jagannath University.
language as main language by person with
Hearing and Speech impairments;
formation of Self-help groups and welfare
organizations, and operation of those
groups.
A country cannot go ahead if a large
number of its people remain excluded.
Hence, it is needed to build an inclusive
society. But how? According to BERDO, the
following measures can be helpful:
It is needed to create awareness, share
information, and increase greater
coordination among Disabled People's
Organizations (DPOs); define strategies and
involve PwDs from the very beginning of
planning; work closely with local, regional
and national level agencies/departments to
implement "Persons with Disabilities Rights
and Protection Act 2013" by DPOs to
achieve the SDGs goals; build good rapport
and keep constant touch, liaison and
communication with different ministries,
departments and institutions.
The steps also include to make correlation
between UNCRPD and SDG strategies of the
government; ensure participation of PwDs
in different platforms, committees and
forums and to monitor SDG
implementation. We need a rights-based
inclusive society where all the people can
enjoy their rights without any
discrimination. We have constitutional
obligation to build up such society.
Article 19 of Bangladesh Constitution
called for ensuring equality of opportunity to
all the citizens. Article 28 (1) says that the
State shall not discriminate against any
citizens on grounds only of religion, race,
caste, sex or place of birth.
Article 28(4) called for making special
provision for the advancement of any
backward section of citizens.
It is hoped that the PwDs would be
integrated into the mainstream of society
with the adoption of inclusive approach,
which would contribute achieving the SDGs.
The writer is a freelance journalist
consequences could outweigh any benefits.
The experts wrote an open letter stating that
the deployment of solar geoengineering
cannot be governed globally in a fair,
inclusive and effective manner. They asked
governments, the UN and other world actors
to prevent the normalization of solar
geoengineering as a climate policy option.
Pushed to buy time until better solutions
emerge to stall climate change, some want to
embrace solar geoengineering and artificially
dim the sun's radiative force, but studies
have shown that this could disrupt monsoon
rains and, in parts of Asia and Africa, ravage
rain-fed crops that feed hundreds of millions
of people. Some want to embrace solar
geoengineering and artificially dim the sun's
radiative force, but studies have shown this
could disrupt monsoon rains.
Source: Arab news