Akbar Ali Khan sees no sign of good governance in near future

Former bureaucrat and adviser to the caretaker government Akbar Ali Khan has said that given the prevailing scenario in the country he does not see any sign of good governance shortly.

“It will take time for the situation to change, at least 10 to 15 years,” he said at a workshop on good governance and economic development at the research organisation BIDS on Sunday.

Hossain Zillur Rahman, who was also an adviser to the caretaker government, moderated the programme.

Will the development continue without good governance, he raised the question at the forum, and then came up with the answer “it will continue for sometimes but not for long. We will face the problem within 10 to 15 years.”

“Preparation is needed for that. If we take steps for good governance now, we will reap the benefit in over a decade or so,” he added.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith earlier acknowledged establishing good governance as a challenge.

Akbar Ali Khan said that good governance should not be considered as a requirement for economic development, but it should be seen as basic rights.

Quoting Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, Akbar Ali said that “development is freedom. Good governance is not a matter of choice; it’s mandatory for development".

He criticised the World Bank for its policy towards the developing nations.

“After increasing financial aid to the African countries, the global lender had said that there would be economic growth in those countries, but the situation deteriorated instead,” he said adding “the bank later accused the local government officials of the failure.”

In Bangladesh, he said, the governance system had been deteriorating, but the growth remained unstoppable.

“The World Bank has no clue about it, so they are putting different information in different reports,” he said.

Former governor of the central bank Muhammad Farashuddin inaugurated the workshop.