Editorial – The Daily Economist

Govt allows schools, colleges to charge only tuition fees

Staff Reporter — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 11:59:28 +0000

The government has allowed private schools and colleges to charge students tuition fees despite the shutdown of the institutions amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The schools and colleges, however, are barred from charging students fees for tiffin, readmission, magazine and development, the Secondary and Higher Education Department said in a notice on Wednesday, reports bdnews24.com.

Schools and other educational institutions have remained closed since Mar 18 as part of a measure to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The new decision came amid disagreements between parents and the authorities over the payment of tuition fees. The parents argue that they have suffered an income squeeze during the pandemic, and are unable to pay the tuition fees.

The institutions, on the other hand, are trying their best to continue the academic life of the students, owners said adding they need to spend a certain amount of money to pay staff salaries and for maintenance.

“We need to consider the parents’ problem as well as ensure that the institutions don’t shut down or the teachers and other staff members don’t go unpaid,” the government said.

Considering the overall issues, the government decided to allow private institutions under the department to receive only tuition fees from their students.

“But they cannot take any fee for assignment, tiffin, readmission, library, science lab, magazine and development. They will return the amount if taken already or adjust it with the tuition fees.”

The department also urged the authorities to consider the financial crisis of the students whose parents have lost their jobs or suffered an income squeeze.

Why ADP funds remain unexpended

Staff Reporter — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 07:40:37 +0000

The Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the Ministry of Planning mechanically oversees the progress of the ADP. It is not clear who fell behind for which reason and whether there is any connection with corruption
The inability and inefficiency in the implementation of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) has been discussed for many years. But this time, even after three months of the financial year, it is disappointing that 6 important departments of the government could not spend even 1 per cent of the allocated funds. Those who are in charge of managing these departments need to be accountable in this regard. This practice of accountability is systematically absent from the entire ADP action plan and implementation process. The Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the Ministry of Planning mechanically oversees the progress of the ADP. It is not clear who fell behind for which reason and whether there is any connection with corruption. Last July, we learned that a total of seven ministries, divisions and agencies could not spend even half of the ADP allocation for the whole year. Even agencies like IMED and the ACC, which are responsible for transparency and accountability, have not been able to implement their specific projects in time. Since then, the incompetence of the six departments (Law and Justice, Parliament Secretariat, Public Security, Internal Resources, Public Service Commission) in the first quarter of the financial year was natural.The worst performance in this regard has been by the Ministry of Law and Justice. But they should have been able to to show the best expenditure as their budget allocation is less than required. The budget is so low that the opposition made jokes about the allocation in the last parliamentary session. They proposed to cut the allocation of the law ministry and proposed an allocation of only one taka. About 3 million cases are pending. They are expected to show the most managerial excellence. There has been Tk 3.5 billion allocated for six projects under the Law and Justice Division. But in three months (last July-September) they could not spend even Tk 20 million. If this situation is a measure of the efficiency of this division, it is conceivable that their demand for additional allocation will not be accepted in the next financial year.The parliament secretariat is an independent secretariat constituted by law. They have only one project titled ‘Strengthening Parliament’s Capacity into Population and Development Issues’, for which Tk 8.3 million was allocated. But they could not spend a penny in three months. They are not even dependent on any other ministry or agency to make the decision.Those divisions may use the COVID-19 outbreak as an excuse, but that will be nothing but an excuse. This picture has remained fairly unchanged. The half a dozen departments and constitutional bodies, which spend below 1 per cent in the first quarter, may set a record for spending maximum share in the last quarter. However, like these six, those who cannot maintain transparency and discipline in the process of project implementation will have to be held accountable. The ADP for the current financial year is Tk 2,250 billion. In the first quarter, an average of 8 per cent ADP has been implemented. This is also not satisfactory. The question is what happens in the last quarter? As can be seen in the so-called June-July syndrome, we see a rise in spending the money. It benefits the contractors as they collect the money as soon as they submit the bills. It is is obvious that the quality of the project cannot be checked in that short span of time.We look forward to ending the ongoing trend of ADP implementation. It is important to assess why money cannot be spent in time. But IMED does not do the job properly.

Foreign workers should be kept under surveillance

Staff Reporter — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 07:34:39 +0000

It is natural for the state to display empathy towards persons who come to Bangladesh from all over the world as migrants for economic reasons. There are many undocumented Bangladeshi expatriate workers in various countries of the world too. Bangladesh expects that they be treated with utmost empathy. The huge contribution of remittance to the country’s foreign currency reserves is undeniable. That is why the state must have a humanitarian extradition policy for illegal foreign workers.The apprehensions are not unfounded that Bangladesh may have to pay dearly for its lax surveillance of foreign nationals in Bangladesh. According to a report appearing on 2 November in Prothom Alo, official records show that 12,000 foreign national (9,000 of them Indian) from 108 countries who had entered Bangladesh legally are now staying on illegally.The government surveillance in this regard is very lax. According to the law, the police’s Special Branch (SB) is responsible to keep these foreign nationals under surveillance. They say they are aware of the dangers involved, but are not active about extraditing the illegal workers due to lack of the required infrastructure.In order to set up a process to legalise the illegal foreign workers and also to send them back to their respective countries if needed, the first requirement is political decision. If that is in place, the necessary laws can be prepared or updated and an infrastructure created.The law enforcement agencies often avoid arresting foreign nationals staying illegally in Bangladesh in the ‘greater interests’ of the countryThe law enforcement agencies often avoid arresting foreign nationals staying illegally in Bangladesh in the ‘greater interests’ of the country. They know if these persons are arrested, they will be handed over to the court and a legal process will begin. Many will come out on bail and chose a lengthy legal process. That is why SB and other agencies choose to be lenient about arresting these illegal foreign nationals, as it seems to be lesser of the evil. However, this cannot go on. After all, outward appearances cannot differentiate between a terrorist and an innocent economic migrant. Weaknesses in surveillance can lead to serious danger.Other countries of the world have interim systems to speedily extradite illegal expatriate workers. They are normally kept in safe homes at first. These are referred to as detention centres in many countries. Bangladesh should certainly use the more sensitive term ‘safe home’. After all, no matter what legal questions may be involved, workers are economic migrants, often economic refugees. They should not be bracketed with common criminals.However, human traffickers and other dubious quarters often take advantage of this weakness and loopholes in Bangladesh. The arrest of over 50 persons from eight African countries who were involved in bank credit card scams, counterfeit currency, other scams involving IT, contract marriages, etc, indicates that it is high time for the government to strengthen its control and surveillance on foreign nationals.The Indian government itself has said that Bangladesh is among one of the top five countries from where it receives remittance. It should be thoroughly checked whether the foreign nationals who are earning legally here, are evading taxes or not. They must be monitored carefully.According to the Foreigners Order 1951, after a foreign national is detained, he must remain in a’safe home’ until extradited. The immigration police will be allocated funds to bear the expense of air tickets and other extradition expenses. This negligence must come to a halt.

Share market needs strict surveillance and authority

Staff Reporter — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 07:32:55 +0000

After changes in the regulatory body BSEC, the reforms and initiatives instilled a degree of stability in the share market. Transactions have also increased along with the index. It seems investors’ confidence has increased in this market that had been stagnating.After nearly a decade, the market is now easing. One of the reasons is the change in the regulatory body, the Securities and Exchange Commission. If the progress was caused due to the change, naturally question arises as to why the person in whom the investors had no trust, remained chairman of the SEC for 9 years? It is very clear that during the term of the former chairman Khairul Haque, the distrust of the investors, the rumours surrounding him and his incompetence led to the collapse of the sector. If millions of investors are harmed because of him, he and the government as cannot avoid their liability.The economy is slowly recovering in the post-pandemic period, with the stock market also emerging from a vicious cycle. At the beginning of last July, the market capital of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) was Tk 3.11 trillion, now it is around Tk 3.95 trillion. The main index of DSE is is broadly close to five thousand, the transaction now Tk 8 to 12 billion.The stock market will play a big role in development if its laws and power are applied impartially and this market is allowed to run at its own paceAfter taking charge, BSEC chairman Shibli Rubaiyat-ul-Islam has promised to establish good governance in the capital market and has taken some steps. The strict rules imposed on the shares of directors has yielded positive results. There have been attempts to bring new companies into the market, although the process of pricing IPOs is not yet free from question.Lack of investment due to coronavirus outbreak has already led to idle money in the capital market, black money has been given the opportunity to be invested, interest rates on bank loans and deposits have come down. Institutional investment came up in many ways. As a result of various steps taken by the government, the liquidity crisis has been alleviated.However, even in this situation, those involved in market manipulation have not stopped. Investors are seeing the manipulation, too. In the stock market, the share price of some insurance companies has doubled, tripled, quadrupled, which is not at all normal according capital market experts. Although the share price of weak companies has risen abnormally, the silence of the regulatory body is being questioned. The institution needs to keep a close eye on the market so that no party can benefit from foul play.The experience of the capital market in Bangladesh is the intervention of government institutions or agencies and attempts to control the index, which is unwarranted. Because when a market is attempting to rise, it will not bring long-term benefit it pulled up or controlled. The market must now be allowed to run on its own.It is also the main responsibility of the regulator to protect the interests of investors. If someone invests in the stock market without understanding it, that person has to take the responsibility. But if someone goes to this market and falls victim to fraud, that is the responsibility of the commission, for which the investors have to be warned.The difference between the powers of the SEC and the other bodies is that the commission can make its own rules. It has semi-judicial powers. The government has many commissions which are powerless. But SEC has a lot of power and stakeholders want to see a fair exercise of its power. The stock market will play a big role in development if its laws and power are applied impartially and this market is allowed to run at its own pace.

SMEs in need of urgent financial support

Staff Reporter — Sat, 31 Oct 2020 16:47:16 +0000

The pandemic has hit hard all businesses in the country and across the world. The small businesses are affected more whereas big businesses are recovering gradually by availing state-sponsored loans and credit facilities. According to recent media reports, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and low-income groups, including farmers are unable to access loans, largely because of the reluctance of banks. In our country, benefits of stimulus packages are mostly enjoyed by big business houses.

This is indeed a matter for concern. We have reiterated previously urging banking and financial authorities to introduce and accelerate the loan disbursement process for the hardest hit small and medium businesses. But, the progress so far has been noticeably slow.

however, 81.87 per cent of the Tk 33,000 crore package for large industries and the service sector was approved by the lenders as of October 6 — only about a quarter of the Tk 20,000-crore package was dedicated for the SME sector — amounting to Tk 5,882 crore among 26,664 borrowers since September. Additionally , the situation is no less alarming for the farming sector which, as of September 30, saw only Tk 1,869 crore disbursed among 87,526 borrowers under the Tk 5,000-crore package. Several factors have been identified for the slow development in the SME sector, including the reluctance of lenders to promote stimulus and loan packages. Banks and financial sectors are also worried about the fragile state of SME sector as well.

The point, however, SMEs make a large portion of their profit ahead of seasonal and religious festivals such as Pahela Baishakh, Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha, but they failed to do so due to the unanticipated outbreak of the pandemic. Moreover, with no vaccine to arrive any time soon, future of our SME entrepreneurs has become uncertain.Therefore, whatever the circumstances, the central bank cannot avoid its responsibility in this regard. It must do more to remove all circumstantial barriers in accessing the loans while ensuring all public banks to speed up loan pay-out process for small and medium business entrepreneurs. More to it, considering the large number of people who depend on the cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises in Bangladesh, current allocation of funds under the stimulus packages also need to be increased.Lastly, we should not forget that SMEs are the backbone of our economy. They contribute about one-fourth of the country’s gross domestic product, delivering jobs, growth and prosperity for millions of people across the country. The SME sector cannot sustain and grow without public and private patronage in these testing times.

Amazon extends work from home option till June

Staff Reporter — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 13:11:23 +0000

Amazon.com Inc on Tuesday told employees whose work can be done from home that they can do so until June, extending the timeline on a return to office due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reports Reuters.

“Employees who work in a role that can effectively be done from home are welcome to do so until June 30, 2021”, an Amazon spokeswoman said in an emailed statement on Tuesday, adding the guidance is applicable globally.

Amazon had earlier allowed that option until January.

The development comes less than three weeks after the world’s largest online retailer said more than 19,000 of its U.S. frontline workers contracted the coronavirus this year.

Some staff, elected officials and unions in recent months have said that Amazon put employees’ health at risk by keeping warehouses open during the pandemic.

“We have invested significant funds and resources to keep those who choose to come to the office safe through physical distancing, deep cleaning, temperature checks, and by providing face coverings and hand sanitizer,” the Amazon spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

In May, Twitter Inc became the first major tech company to allow employees who can work remotely to do so indefinitely.

Other tech giants have extended the work from home option for their employees with Microsoft Corp saying earlier this month it will let most employees work remotely for up to half their weekly working hours.

Facebook Inc had said it would allow its employees to work from home till July next year, while Google had extended the remote working period for employees who do not need to be in the office till June.

Netflix falls short on new subscribers as pandemic boost fizzles

Staff Reporter — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 13:03:45 +0000

Netflix Inc on Tuesday posted its weakest subscriber gains in four years as streaming competition increased, pandemic restrictions eased and live sports returned to television, reports Reuters.

The company added 2.2 million paid subscribers globally during the quarter that ended Sept. 30, missing Wall Street’s target of 3.4 million and its own forecast.

Earnings per share also landed below analyst expectations at $1.74. The consensus forecast was $2.14, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Shares of Netflix, one of the biggest gainers this year as people stayed home amid the pandemic, dropped nearly 6% to $494 in after-hours trading on Tuesday.

“Domestic subscribers were nearly flat, which highlights Netflix’s saturation in the U.S.,” said Ross Benes, analyst with eMarketer. With domestic additions slowing, revenue growth will likely come from price increases, he said.

The company reported a blockbuster quarter at the start of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, adding 15.8 million paying customers from January through March.

Netflix had warned investors that a sudden surge in new sign-ups would fade in the latter half of the year as COVID-19 restrictions eased. Netflix forecast in the fourth quarter it would bring in 6 million new subscribers around the globe, short of the 6.51 million that analysts expected.

The streaming video pioneer is trying to win new customers and fend off competition as viewers embrace online entertainment. During the third quarter, Netflix released “Emily in Paris”, “Enola Holmes” and “The Devil All the Time.”

Netflix acknowledged that competition was increasing as studios across Hollywood from Walt Disney Co to AT&T Inc’s WarnerMedia have restructured to compete more directly for video subscribers.

“Competition for consumers’ time and engagement remains vibrant,” Netflix said in a letter to shareholders.

In recent months, major sports resumed play and nascent streaming services, including AT&T’s HBO Max and Comcast Corp’s Peacock, offered audiences new options.

Netflix said its results reflected the fact that it saw such a big surge in customers early in the year.

“We continue to view quarter-to-quarter fluctuations in paid net adds as not that meaningful in the context of the long run adoption of internet entertainment, which we believe is still early and should provide us with many years of strong future growth as we continue to improve our service,” the company said.

Netflix officials noted the company had pulled in more subscribers in the first nine months of 2020 than in all of 2019. It ended the third quarter with 195.2 million global streaming customers.

“Next time we get together, we should be over 200 million members, completing a year of 34 million (additions),” an annual record, Co-Chief Executive Reed Hastings said in an analyst interview.

The company also said it expected to complete shooting over 150 productions by the end of the year and that it would release more original programming in each quarter of 2021 compared with 2020.

Revenue rose 22.7% to $6.44 billion in the third quarter, edging past estimates of $6.38 billion.

Net income rose to $790 million, or $1.74 per share, in the quarter from $665.2 million, or $1.47 per share, a year earlier.

New Zealand votes to legalise euthanasia

Staff Reporter — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 12:16:57 +0000

New Zealand has voted to legalise euthanasia in what campaigners call “a victory for compassion and kindness”.

Preliminary referendum results showed 65.2% of voters supported the End of Life Choice Act 2019 coming into force as a new law.

It will allow terminally ill people, with less than six months to live, the opportunity to choose assisted dying if approved by two doctors.

For its opponents the law lacks adequate safeguards.

The results announced on Friday do not include an estimated 480,000 special votes, including overseas ballots, so the final outcome will not be confirmed until 6 November. But with such strong support, the decision is not expected to change.

The referendum is binding and the new law is expected to come into effect in November 2021.

It will see New Zealand join a small group of countries, including the Netherlands and Canada, which allow euthanasia.

The referendum on assisted dying was held alongside the general election earlier this month. In a separate non-binding referendum held at the same time, New Zealanders narrowly rejected a proposal to legalise recreational cannabis.

The preliminary results on the cannabis vote was 53.1% no and 46.1% yes – though this result may be subject to change when the special votes are counted.

What has the reaction been?

The “yes” verdict had been anticipated after polls suggested strong public support for the law, which was also backed by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the opposition leader, Judith Collins.

But it was the result of an emotional, years-long campaign with strong views on both sides of the debate.

For Matt Vickers, who took on his late wife Lecretia Seales’ fight to legalise assisted dying, the result is “a victory for compassion and kindness”.

“I am grateful that terminally ill New Zealanders will have a say about the ends of their lives,” he told the BBC after the announcement.

Ms Seales was a lawyer who launched a legal challenge for the right to end her life with medical assistance after she was diagnosed with a brain tumour. But her case was unsuccessful and she died of her illness five years ago, aged 42.

Mr Vickers pressed on with her campaign and in 2016 his book, “Lecretia’s Choice: A Story of Love, Death and the Law”, was published.

The day before the result Mr Vickers told the BBC that ultimately his late wife’s goal was for terminally ill people “to have a choice”.

“She didn’t want to die. No one does. That’s a popular misconception. The problem was the choice to live had been taken away,” he said. “She wanted a choice on how death happens so if things got bad she could end the suffering at the time she wanted.”

What is the new law?

The End of Life Choice Act was passed by parliament in 2019 after years of heated parliamentary debate and a record number of public submissions.

But there was a proviso that it would first be put to a referendum, only coming into force if more than 50% of voters ticked “yes”.

There are a number of criteria a person must meet to ask for assisted dying. These include:

suffering from a terminal illness that’s likely to end their life within six months
showing a significant decline in physical capability
being able to make an informed decision about assisted dying
The legislation authorises a doctor or nurse to administer or prescribe a lethal dose of medication to be taken under their supervision if all the conditions are met.

The law also says a person cannot be eligible for assisted dying on the basis of advanced age, mental illness, or disability alone.

Which countries allow euthanasia?

The referendum result in New Zealand will be closely watched by advocates for and against assisted dying throughout the world.

By voting “yes” the country is joining a small group of nations and territories that have passed similar legislation.

Euthanasia is legal in Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, while assisted suicide is permitted in Switzerland.

A number of states in the United States and the Australian state of Victoria have also made assisted dying legal.

Euthanasia is the act of deliberately ending a person’s life to relieve suffering, while assisted suicide is the act of deliberately assisting another person to kill themselves. In contrast to euthanasia and assisted suicide, assisted dying would apply to terminally ill people only.

Source: BBC

Bangladesh reports 1681 coronavirus cases in 24hrs

Staff Reporter — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 14:58:32 +0000

Bangladesh on Thursday recorded 1,681 more cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the total to 4,04,760.

Of the total patients, 3,21,281 recovered, with 1,548 made recovery in the last 24 hours.

The daily count came from test of 14,268 samples in the past day. As of today, the number of total sample test stood at 23,10,589.

However, the country today reported 25 more deaths from the deadly virus, taking the tally to 5,886.

Bangladesh first reported its COVID-19 cases on March 8. Since then the country has been struggling to limit spread of the highly contagious virus.

Coronavirus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year, and then spread to newer countries and territories.

As of Thursday, the epidemic infected 44,843,380 people and killed 1,180,352 across the globe, according to Worldometer, a website which compiles number of new coronavirus cases and deaths from it.

However, total number of people who recovered from the coronavirus pandemic reached 32,772,479 across the world.

Turkey condemns French caricature featuring Erdogan

Staff Reporter — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 14:50:05 +0000

Top Turkish officials condemned a caricature scorning President Tayyip Erdogan in the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday, calling it a “disgusting effort” to “spread its cultural racism and hatred”.

Turkish anger at the caricature added fuel to a row between Turkey and France about cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, which flared after a teacher who had shown pupils the cartoons in a lesson on freedom of speech was beheaded in France this month.

“We strongly condemn the publication concerning our President in the French magazine which has no respect for any belief, sacredness and values,” presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin wrote on Twitter, reports Reuters.

“They are just showing their own vulgarity and immorality. An attack on personal rights is not humour and freedom expression,” he said.

The cartoon on the cover of Charlie Hebdo, showed Erdogan sitting in a white T-shirt and underpants, holding a canned drink along with a woman wearing an Islamic hijab.

Turkish presidential communications director Fahrettin Altun said “Macron’s anti-Muslim agenda is bearing fruit!”.

“We condemn this most disgusting effort by this publication to spread its cultural racism and hatred,” Altun wrote on Twitter.

Erdogan sharply criticised Macron at the weekend, saying the French leader needed a mental health check, prompting France to recall its ambassador from Ankara. On Monday, Erdogan urged a boycott of French products. [nL8N2HH3MN]

The Prophet Mohammad cartoons, considered blasphemous by Muslims, have been displayed in France in solidarity and Macron has said he would redouble efforts to stop conservative Islamic beliefs subverting French values, angering many Muslims.