The ultimate sufferers…..

Common people having no personal vehicles and unable to afford airplanes are now paying an extra 27 per cent for traveling by bus, and another 35.29 per cent for boarding launches. They are destined to bear additional costs, as expected, thanks to the governance lacuna and undue influence of transport owners in our society. While no meaningful presence of opposition political parties and the ruling party overwhelmingly dominating the parliament, the imminent and obvious woes of common people is not heard by the government, despite media’s strong role so far against abrupt and unjust diesel price hike and against the abnormal hike in bus and launch fares. This is an unjust imposition of an extra financial burden upon the commoners at a time when inflation, particularly the non-food inflation has been on the rise for the last three months amid slow pandemic economic recovery.

Increasing diesel and kerosene prices by 23 per cent is now a double whammy on the hapless consumers.

The profit monger transport owners who made the nation and the government hostage through enforcing transport strike for three days provide a lesson for the policymakers. The hostage situation will improve and blanket influence of transport sector leaders will lessen only after the government strengthens the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation with more buses on countrywide major routes. The country used to have BRTC bus depots in almost every old district even after the independence. Infiltration of corrupt and opportunist businessmen in politics of this country is hardly a secret. These political leaders have been exerting muscle power and have succeeded in persuading successive governments to shift their focuses from state-owned transport sector to privately-run road transportation system. As a result, the government has become weaker than the private sector, making the common people the worst victims. The situation is not likely to change anytime soon, unless pro-people transport policy to facilitate common people’s movement with cheaper cost is adopted.

Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), which made over Tk 43,000 crore profit in the last seven years marketing fuel oil in the domestic market at much higher rates than it procured from international markets, did not extend its loss even for six months. According to the Bangladesh Economic Review 2021 by the Ministry of Finance, in the 2020-21 fiscal year, the BPC earned Tk 5,839.39 crore in profits, which was Tk 5,066.54 crore in FY 2019-20. The government needs to give proper direction to the BPC as when to make profits, when to incur losses and when to sit idle to observe global petroleum market. Increasing fuel oil prices abruptly and facilitating blanket corruption by fuel officials cannot be the sole responsibility of a major state-owned organization.

A report published on November 3– just a day before the new rate came into effect– by a daily stated that the BPC had registered a sharp jump in sales of furnace oil, diesel and kerosene.

On Wednesday, the sales of fuel from the various depots of Padma, Meghna and Jamuna, the subsidiaries of the state-run corporation, surged compared to the previous day.

On the day, the depots across the country sold around 500 tonnes of kerosene, up 43 per cent from 350 tonnes a day before, BPC data showed. This actually happened due to connivance between BPC officials and rogue oil traders who made profits out of leaked information.

As much as, 16,000 tonnes of diesel were sold on Wednesday, which was 14.28 per cent higher than the volume of 14,000 tonnes on Tuesday. The depots also sold 2,400 tonnes of furnace oil on November 3, up 50 per cent from 1,600 tonnes a day earlier, the report adds further.

We urge the government to fix its governance towards fixing petroleum prices, fixing BPC activities and outlook and take woes of consumers and businesses into account. Citing the price hike situation in global market and smuggling to neighboring India are not strong enough arguments to justify diesel price adjustment, and bus and launch fares hikes. Tackling smuggling is a governance issue, as para-military force is assigned to halt border infiltration and smuggling. Failures of government agencies cannot be shifted to common people and business community.

The policymakers have to thoroughly understand the importance of diesel from transportation to production levels, from agriculture to factory floors, as diesel makes for 70 percent of the total consumed fuel in Bangladesh. Sectors such as road and water transports, power generation and agricultural production are dependent on diesel.

Only better management, good governance and subsidized diesel will help both commoners, and business entities.