time for action in bangladesh

News Analysis
From Denial to Recognition

Now time for action

Even in the grim news there was something welcoming when Finance Minister AMA Muhith finally said achieving the targeted 7 percent growth might not be possible.
Not that Muhith said anything that we had not perceived earlier. The way the economy was rolling, it was evident that not all was going well and that we would end up with a low growth scenario.
But till now he was steadfastly denying anything wrong in the economy. With him all the cabinet ministers including the prime minister herself jumped on the bandwagon of denial. They drew a rosy picture of the economy while wiser heads cringed.
But finally the finance minister admitted, or should we rather say recognised, that the economy is on a downslide.
This is a relief statement not because "bad news is good news". But because we have a proper and official assessment of the situation. We are no longer acting the ostrich. This means we can now plan for a recovery and make policy decisions.
Amidst everything, he deserves thanks for admitting the reality. More so because this is not the political culture of the day to say that things are not in their right shapes. Rather political leaders fall into the Goebbelian wisdom that you deny and keep on telling lies until everyone believes them (one may well recall how the political leadership once dealt with the August 21 grenade attack or the Bangla Bhai syndrome).