Reliance on foreign firms in resource management ‘suicidal’: Anu Muhammad

The remarks follow widespread criticism of a trade agreement signed between the Yunus-led interim government and the US

Prof Anu Muhammad, a member of the Ganatantrik Odhikar Committee, has once again criticised the failure of successive governments to strengthen national capacity and state institutions in strategic sectors such as energy and natural resource management.

Speaking at an event evaluating the BNP government’s first few months in power at Dhaka Reporters Unity on Saturday, the former Jahangirnagar University teacher described reliance on foreign multinationals as “suicidal”.

“Instead of increasing our own capacity, suicidal dependence on foreign multinational companies and unequal treaties are putting public interest at extreme risk,” he said.

The remarks follow widespread criticism of a trade agreement signed between the Yunus-led interim government and the United States on Feb 9, just three days before the general election.

Anu Muhammad said deep-rooted corruption, a lack of transparency in decision-making and a deficit of accountability had disrupted the democratic balance across all levels of administration and the judiciary.

“When the state chooses to suppress dissent by over-centralising power and ignores structural reforms in basic sectors such as education, energy and administration, it creates structural inequality and a crisis of trust in the name of development,” he added.

He called for ensuring the autonomy of national institutions, establishing state control over resources, and building a participatory governance system rooted in the spirit of the Liberation War.

The meeting, presided over by Anu Muhammad, also featured views from other academics and activists.

Speakers said hasty decision-making in the energy sector, often triggered by artificial crises, was hindering long-term planning and wasting state resources.

They criticised the “solar roadmap” as unrealistic, saying policy instability had failed to inspire investor confidence in renewable energy.

Samina Luthfa, a professor at Dhaka University, focused on the education sector, calling for a unified national teacher structure to eliminate discrimination between MPO and non-MPO teachers.

Pointing to high dropout rates at the secondary level, she demanded an allocation of at least 5 percent of the national budget for education.