Home ›› 19 Jul 2022 ›› Opinion
“Inclusiveness” in Sustainable Development goals (SDGs) means that the development must include all people in the development process. Leave No One Behind (LNOB), is the central, transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The main motto of SDGs involves all government, the private sector, civil society organizations, multinational development institutions, and all parts of the UN system and offers equal opportunities and equitable distribution of the benefits. The concept proposed three basic factors– social, ecological, and economic–which have been continuously developed until today.
Bangladesh progress report 2020 claims that despite various challenges Bangladesh is on the track to achieving the SDGs in time. Bangladesh is performing well in various aspects including poverty reduction, gender equality, electricity, sanitation and annual GDP growth. The first three SDGs pertain to ending poverty and hunger and improving public health Bangladesh has made good progress on all three and is on track to achieve the targets. Of the 17 targets under the three SDGs, four have already been met, six are on track and five need more attention.
But some challenges have been so far been identified, one major challenge is the lack of proper data. Bangladesh has data for only 70 indicators out of the 232 prescribed by the UN to assess the progress of SDGs. Bangladesh government also highlights the need for improved international cooperation and support to meet national priority targets 39+1 out of the 169 targets that fall within the 17 SDGs.
Even though the government’s official report is pretty much hopeful to achieve almost all the SDGs within the expected timeline, there are some challenges that will be hard to overcome. Along with the lack of proper data, the quality of the already collected data is another concern. There are also some issues that are not getting proper focus in the development discourse of Bangladesh. Inequality among the rich and poor; urban and rural people is pretty much evident, but it is not getting proper attention. Illicit finance flow is eating up a huge chunk of Bangladesh’s potential, which is once again an issue that not got the due attention. Unemployment of the youth population is also another big hurdle for Bangladesh which is hard to address (SDG-8).
Bangladesh must continue to promote a transformative policy regime to make its inclusive development journey sustainable. Therefore, it should continue to focus on fast growth and inclusiveness, prioritizing domestic consumption and demand along with global collaboration to promote exports. We should respect our own culture and openness and promote innovation.
Development is a process. In other words, development means the implementation of big projects and the achievement of high GDP. But they are not considering the many other important indicators of development. Thus, development is confined to a single index. In order to improve the development index, various issues like health, education, air pollution, removal of distribution inequalities, provision of food for the poor, provision of adequate employment for the deserving people, etc. need to be addressed. We also need to pay close attention to the establishment of social justice.
People are the main focus of the development of a country. Development can never be beneficial unless effective measures are taken for the balanced development of those people. For real development, we need to focus on good governance to achieve development in a sustainable way. Without sustainable development, a country’s development activities can never be sustainable. Those involved in economic policy-making and management think about macroeconomic indicators, gross domestic product (GDP), the balance of payments and currency values. But they have no worries about whether the benefits of the achieved development can reach everyone on the basis of fairness.
During the tenure of the present government, the infrastructural development in the country has been extensive. There is no area where paved roads have not been constructed, or the communication system has not been modernized. But infrastructural development is not the only factor in increasing national production. If we cannot increase production by utilizing infrastructural development, that development will not be of any use in the long run.
Bangladesh is going through a demographic dividend situation; many are not aware of it. Bangladesh’s demographic dividend situation will end somewhere between 2035-2040. Then the number of senior citizens will increase. Human resources are the most important tool for the economic development of a country. But our human resources are not competitive at all internationally.
The two main sources of foreign exchange earnings in the economy of Bangladesh are the export of goods and services and the export of manpower. But these two sectors stand on weak and fragile foundations. At least 35 to 40 per cent of the huge amount of money that Bangladesh earns annually from the export of goods and services goes abroad for the import of raw materials and capital machinery. The rate of value addition of this sector in the national economy is relatively low.
On the other hand, the country’s foreign trade is highly dependent on a limited number of countries and a few products. About 90 per cent of the huge amount of money that Bangladesh earns annually by exporting goods comes from 28 countries of the European Union and the United States. Bangladesh exports very little to neighbouring India and China. However, Bangladesh imports the most amount of goods from these two countries.
That means we have no consistency in international trade. Bangladesh is heavily dependent on garment exports. Over-reliance on one or two products is by no means a sign of healthy economic situation. Manpower is the second largest foreign exchange earning sector in the country. But the problem in this sector is that most of those who go abroad for employment are unskilled and untrained workers. They can’t go abroad and speak the local language well.
Without adequate communication skills these workers can’t demonstrate efficiency. As a result, they receive a much lower salary than workers in other countries. If we do not keep the economy flowing in the right direction, serious problems could arise at any time in the future. So, we have to focus on balanced development now. But despite all the adversities, Bangladesh has been doing exceedingly well in maintaining its robust growth rate.
The daily income of an agricultural worker is not less than Tk. 500. They can now afford nutritious food, education, and healthcare for their children with their income. Garment workers are also sending money to their families regularly. As a result, the nutritional value, height, and weight of five-year-old children have been increasing in addition to the decline in infant mortality. All in all, Bangladesh has achieved a satisfactory score on the Global Hunger Index this year. It is 19.5 compared to 28.5 in 2011.
Keeping this in mind, Bangladesh aspires to become a developed country by 2041, according to its latest Perspective Plan. By then it’s per capita income will be 12 thousand US dollars plus. Its average growth rate will be 9 percent during this period. Inflation will be slightly below 5 per cent. The population growth rate will be 1.03 percent; the savings ratio 37.75 per cent of GDP; investment ratio 40.87 percent; private sector investment 31.23 percent; foreign direct investment 2.82 percent; the export growth rate of 11.2 percent; imports 10.7 percent, and expatriate income 4.67 percent. Bangladesh will have foreign exchange reserves to cover 6.34 months of import costs.
However, we still need to do a lot more if we want to reach those goals. On average, we need to increase the growth by another 2 per cent. With this in mind, the government has undertaken many mega infrastructure projects. Padma bridge alone will add more than 1 per cent growth. The mega projects can be game changers for Bangladesh’s economy as these are both growth and employment multipliers. Special economic zones, including Bangabandhu Industrial City will take Bangladesh to new heights. However, the biggest challenge is to implement these planned infrastructure projects on time.
Good governance is still a substantial challenge for our institutions. Therefore, the need for improving transparency in our implementing organizations is a must. Bangladesh has shown sufficient capacities in ensuring electricity and fuel supplies.
The private sector also needs to contribute to research and development, of course, with greater policy supports. This will certainly require more resources. Not only must we collect revenue from within the country, but we also need to raise international financial support from abroad. And in this case, smart economic diplomacy is imperative. If we can tell the success stories of Bangladesh’s development smartly it will be much easier to attract foreign direct investment which remains quite low.
We should focus more on agriculture, industry and education. The support for modernization and mechanization of agriculture must continue.
To build a developed country at least 4 per cent of the GDP should be invested in the education sector. That education must be linked with the industry by promoting productivity of the skilled human capital. Also, this must be humane, climate-friendly, and broad-based. As demonstrated by Covid-19, we must develop the emergency health system and increase the number of suitable doctors, nurses, health partners and research opportunities for the future of Bangladesh. The National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) is already in place. Focusing on the implementation and financing of this policy is also a crucial part of the humane investment.
Skill development is the most vital tool to increase the productivity of our workforce. In this era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the government and the private sector need to take apt initiatives to strengthen the training of workers to make the education system technology supportive to take advantage of artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, biotechnology and big data management in industries and businesses.
In addition to the apparel sector, other sectors need to increase export diversification and dynamism with equal policies and financial incentives. with the regional and global supply chains. Both domestic and international tourism has been increasing in the post-COVID world. There is a lot of potential for recovery in this sector.
Food production, the development of the food processing industry and digital marketing of food products are crucial for food security. Within the country, many new e-commerce entrepreneurs have sprung up around food products. These small and medium entrepreneurs need easy access to small loans and incentives, including start-up capital.
Bangladesh, realizing that the future will be all about digitization, has been providing ample incentives to the information and communication technology (ICT) sector. 39 high-tech parks have been already built. Fiscal incentives including tax holidays and skill development support are being given to the sector. Huge potential for the growth of the ICT sector is there if funding and branding can be further strengthened.
SDGs responsibility for achieving this goal has been assigned to all the countries of the United Nations including Bangladesh. We need to develop an inclusive society in achieving any goal. The people’s participation plays a key role in achieving the SDGs.
The writer is a researcher and columnist. He can be contacted at hiren.bnnrc@gmail.com
