Bangladesh should put its development activities in the regional and sub-regional context for better results, the outgoing JICA Chief Representative has said.
Published : 17 Jan 2014, 11:23 PM
Takao Toda believes Bangladesh could be “an influential global actor” with its large young population that could become what he said was a “population bonus”, given good education.
But he told bdnews24.com in an interview that the concept of development had to change since “development is a mindset, not only about acquiring money or even technology”.
Japan is Bangladesh’s biggest bilateral donor with assistance handed out by its development arm, the JICA.
According to the finance ministry, Japan had committed $11 billion in loans since 1971, and nearly $7 billion had been utilised till last year.
JICA support covers manifold ventures like building bridges to managing solid wastes and providing medical care.
Toda said the JICA would weave “several ambitious dreams” for Bangladesh in the future such as coal-based power generation. He, however, did not give details.
He said when he came to Dhaka in June 2009 he at once realised that Bangladesh would be a “very important partner of Japan as well as some internationally important countries”.
The importance had grown over the past years, he said, while preparing to leave Dhaka on Jan 24.
Toda found Bangladesh well-positioned geopolitically and stressed better connectivity to facilitate more trade and investments.
In this connection he urged Bangladesh to “contextualise” its development strategy regionally and globally.
For instances, he said, people talk about the Padma bridge as linking between 60 million people and the centre, forgetting a much bigger context.
“This bridge will also establish connectivity between Dhaka and Kolkata; it’s like Bangkok to Rome, and your door to central Asia via India,” he said.
At the same time, he said the Dhaka-Chittagong highway was more important than the Tokyo-Osaka road because “it would give connectivity between Kolkata and Yangon”.
“So the benefit is much higher."
As a strong proponent of linkages he once was floating in the Padma River to feel what he said was “water connectivity” as Padma came from the Ganges, which originated in the Himalayas.
“Two sacred waters coming to me, this is Bangladesh,” he said about what would be one of many fond memories of his Bangladesh assignment.
But he lamented that progress in connectivity had been tardy during the past decade and trade with neighbours had been “miserably poor”.
“This is a kind of chicken and egg argument,” he said that creates a “vicious cycle”.
“You are not so much sensitising on connectivity since the trade is miserably poor. Since the trade is miserably poor, you are not going for connectivity.
“So you need to breach that vicious cycle,” he advised.
He said the geopolitical position of Bangladesh between India and Myanmar, and its proximity to China, in the midst of the so-called Asian highway, would be “very happening in the very near future”.
“You should live with your neighbouring countries, with your global economies, and for that inland connectivity and the sea connectivity are very important."
He cited some instances and said Bangladesh should be a contributing country to landlocked Nepal and Bhutan, and “should also work more closely with India’s seven-sister states, which do not form a very advanced region”.
“They are also suffering. They don’t have to stick to so-called chicken neck; rather they should collaborate with Bangladesh to have more dynamism.”
He stressed the need to work closely with Myanmar, though relations between the two neighbours were not exactly warm because of the Rohingya refugee problem.
“It might not be now, but sooner or later Bangladesh’s connectivity with Myanmar would be very important,” he said.
“Myanmar is a very resource-rich country. If both Myanmar and Bangladesh work together, there could be a very dynamic growth centre that could be further boosted if you involve Nepal and Bhutan”.
He found some strategies adopted by the present government for regional connectivity very useful and hoped they would continue.
Bangladesh has to maintain good relations with all for the sake of its “own development”, he insisted. “Just go for the development, socio-economic development."
What would be Bangladesh’s position in the global context, particularly when it comes to relations with global powers who have differences among them?
“Let us strengthen the resilience of the society against any shocks, not only natural disasters but also global economic shocks.
If you continue inclusive development, your power would be enhanced, the freedom, the range of choice would increase,” he said.
Inclusive development helped to “stabilise society as well as the growth”, he stressed.
During his stay, Bangladesh gained new Japanese projects that include Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) for which Japan would inject $2.45 billion as loan.
Though delayed, the JICA chief said the MRT project was now on track and appreciated Bangladesh for its “world record” target of completing the project in six years.
He said Japan always valued Bangladesh in its overseas development assistance framework, for it understood “the pain of poverty”.
But he said in Bangladeshi the usual lament about the country being poor and low on technology did not identify the real problem.
“The truth is in the mindset,” he said.
“If you really stand up by your services, then this country will be changed,” he said.
“The core issue (of Japan’s development) was mindset of the Japanese people to stand on their own feet and do their best even small things”.
Toda said during his visits to many primary schools in Bangladesh he found some were doing well, while others did not have similar budget and infrastructure.
He also attributed it to the mindset of the good performing schools’ management and teachers.
“If the leadership of an educational institution is strong and committed, and if the mindset of the principal or the headmaster is in the right direction, it can be successful”.
Despite Bangladesh’s growing economy, Toda believed it would take ‘one generation’ for development to happen without foreign assistance.
“You will not have to depend on development assistance, if the mindset of the society is appropriate”.
It is futile to complain about poverty, crafty politicians and corrupt bureaucrats, he said.
“If everyone works seriously, then, ‘collectively’, society changes, and there will be no necessity of aid. But it might take one generation,” he added.
He said if young people start “making efforts instead of complaining” and everyone does his/her best “within the limited resources”, progress would be achieved.
If that mindset is not attained, the “base line will keep sinking” and there will be no real progress.
In case of infrastructure “a lot of importance” should be given to “operation and maintenance”, which he felt were not very attractive words in Bangladesh.
“Operation and maintenance used to be very poor and is still insufficient,” he said, adding that all efforts would be wasted if these two were ignored.
Toda, however, noted Bangladesh’s development after 1990, particularly the MDG achievements, and advised against underestimating “the reputation of the country”.
“Bangladeshi people should be proud of their own effort,” he said.
He steered clear of commenting on Bangladesh’s internal politics during the interview, keeping to his well-known tradition. But he said he had seen “happy years” for Bangladesh from 2009 to 2012 when there had been steady economic growth despite global difficulties.
During his stay, the World Bank had suspended a major Padma bridge funding on charges of Bangladeshi officials’ corruptions.
JICA had to stay off as one of the leading donors as the financing framework was cancelled.
He, however, would not speak much about corruption.
“Everybody knows corruption is not a good thing, everybody knows corruption exists”, he said, but added “you have to appreciate good results”.
“If honest people do not see the result, honest people would disappear,” he said.
“So you need to create a society where honesty, sincerity should prevail, instead of criticism. We need to encourage some positive aspects of public and private sectors."
He urged journalists to share “the good sign of anti-corruption activities”.
Going back to his headquarters in Tokyo, Toda would join the human resource department and said would lead the department as its director general some time later.
But he wished to continue his engagement with Bangladesh through his department in which he found education, health and social welfare would be some of the issues that could connect him with Dhaka.