The upcoming days have great importance in Bangladesh as its residents will celebrate the arrival of the new year 2024 and participate in the electoral process on January 7 to select their government for the subsequent five years. Despite the opposition's desperate attempts to disrupt the election by calling for strikes, blocking roads, and carrying out arson attacks to instill fear, the citizens of Bangladesh have remained actively involved in the national election, demonstrating their resilience and enthusiasm.
Given the anticipated celebratory atmosphere around the upcoming election, a relevant inquiry arises regarding the forthcoming tenure of the Awami League, which is widely predicted to emerge victorious in the election. As an ordinary citizen of the nation, like many others, I desire to witness the new government actively assume responsibility for regulating market pricing, which has dramatically impeded the lives and means of regular individuals. An achievement of the current Awami League government was its adeptness in regulating market prices over the initial 12 years of its tenure, commencing in 2009.
Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict between Ukraine and Russia instigated a worldwide economic downturn and propelled market prices to an exceedingly elevated degree, rendering it arduous for the populace to endure. There has been an undeniable increase in prices for all goods worldwide. However, a robust domestic group has maneuvered the scenario to maximize its advantages, while the authorities responsible for oversight have been unable to regulate them effectively. The ruling party has vowed in its election manifesto to exert maximum efforts to swiftly regulate market pricing, acknowledging the significance of this endeavor. Consequently, most residents anticipate the new government to implement significant measures.
The current administration has effectively transformed the nation into a digital Bangladesh through exemplary endeavors. The Prime Minister is focused on developing a smart Bangladesh, attaining four pillars: smart citizens, government, economy, and society. Consequently, they placed significant importance on this matter in their electoral manifesto. The citizens have shown a heightened desire to become citizens of technologically advanced Bangladesh, where they would access cutting-edge services in centralized service centers. The digital Bangladesh platform will help the administration construct a smart Bangladesh. As citizens, we desire the government to construct a smart Bangladesh during the upcoming five years.
The country's residents have observed remarkable progress under the government of the Awami League during the past fifteen years. The nation has demonstrated trustworthiness in constructing several infrastructure projects, including the Padma Bridge, Dhaka Mass Transit Rail, an underwater tunnel beneath the Karnaphuli River, and an elevated road in Dhaka. These structures demonstrate the country's increased capacity for large-scale economic and infrastructure projects. In addition to these projects, we have achieved sustained economic growth throughout the years. We have surpassed several of our neighboring countries in achieving MDGs and specific targets within the SDGs. Over the past 15 years, the country has emerged as a role model of development, which the world leaders have appreciated. Nevertheless, there are several sectors in which the government cannot achieve the anticipated outcomes.
Specifically, we fall behind in several governance measures, such as insufficient accountability and transparency and pervasive corruption. Despite the prime minister's unwavering stance against corruption, we could not significantly decrease it to an ideal level, damaging the government's reputation. Given the significance of enhancing governance and establishing effective government, the ruling party has underscored its dedication to strengthening governance. Hence, we advocate for the government to implement proactive strategies to diminish corruption, enhance accountability and transparency across all areas of governance, and enhance crucial institutions' capabilities during the upcoming five years. In addition, they must undertake vigorous endeavors to restore discipline in the financial sectors to exercise control over the economy. Assuming the government sustains the progress achieved in its prior economic advancement and enhances the state of governance, we will successfully attain our objective of attaining developed nation status by 2041.
Education is often regarded as the fundamental support system of a nation. Forms in education are crucial for every government. In light of the significance of education in the progress of a nation, the ruling party has committed to implementing changes in this field to enhance the abilities and job prospects of our university
graduates.
Hence, we aim to establish an educational framework integrating comprehensive and specialized components during the next five years. Providing vocational training to many of our graduates would make them valuable assets for us in the future. We must reconsider our strategy of producing several hundred thousand jobless graduates annually without having the capacity to provide them with employment opportunities. We anticipate the government will exert significant effort in this endeavor over the next five years.
Following the electoral agenda of the Awami League, the majority of citizens want a nation devoid of communalism and extremism. Over the past fifteen years, the government has diligently endeavored to diminish the prevalence of extremism throughout the nation, and their efforts have had positive results. Therefore, we desire to see the government's commitment to maintaining the ideals of secularism, which it now does, and actively strives to foster a society characterized by religious peace and the absence of extremism.
As we near the arrival of 2024 and the formation of a new government, we eagerly anticipate a promising future. The diligent efforts of our Prime Minister are aimed at propelling Bangladesh into a higher echelon of progress and growth. We have confidence in her ability to turn an endless pit into an exemplary model of progress, as she has demonstrated her credibility. Hence, we anticipate consistent and continuous growth during the next five years. We anticipate that the citizens of Bangladesh will demonstrate their support for our prime minister by participating in the electoral process on January 7. If the ruling party emerges victorious in the election, it is anticipated that the rate of progress will be expedited during the following five years. The government should enhance its performance in some underperforming industries with significant importance for their reputation.
The writer is a Professor in the Department of Public Administration at the
University of Rajshahi.