Weekly News Clippings (August 22, 2013)

BD for setting value addition limit at 30pc for LDCs (The Financial Express, August 22, 2013)

Bangladesh will request the Developing-8 (D-8) countries to set the value addition limit for the least developed countries (LDCs) at 30 per cent, instead of 40 per cent, for preferential trade among the member states, sources said. Bangladesh is the lone LDC in the grouping. Other members -- Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey -- have declared themselves developing countries.

Cops hardly corrupt (The Daily Star, August 21, 2013)

A recent report showed that the majority of city residents were “satisfied” with the services of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP). The report draws a sharp contrast with another recent survey by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), which had found the police, along with political parties, as the country’s most corrupt public service institution. The study, “Public Satisfaction with Current Policing Practice”, was conducted by the Dhaka University’s sociology department and was funded by the DMP. In the survey, 81 percent of 617 respondents expressed satisfaction with the services provided by the 46 police stations in the DMP area, while 54 percent said they were never asked to pay speed money.

Ominous draft cleared by govt (The Daily Star, August 20, 2013)

The cabinet has approved the draft of the ICT (Amendment) Ordinance-2013 which proposes to empower law enforcers to arrest anyone without warrant and has the highest punishment up to 14 years. In the original Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act-2006, the maximum punishment was a 10-year jail term and a fine of Tk 1 crore. Also the offences were bailable but now the bail is at the judge’s discretion. Destroying computer data with malicious intent, transferring data without proper authority, hacking, and releasing vulgar and defaming information in electronic form will be considered as serious offences as per the proposed amendments.

Bangladesh to import 5,000 tonnes of onions to tame prices (Reuters, August 20, 2013) Trading Corporation of Bangladesh plans to import 5,000 tonnes of onions to counter soaring prices of the commodity. The state purchasing agency is making all efforts to increase supply in the domestic markets to hold down the prices of onions. Prices of onions nearly doubled in the south Asian country in recent weeks following sharp price rises in India, which is the main supplier of onions to Bangladesh along with Myanmar. Onion prices in India hit a two-and-a-half-year high last month due to a drought last year in key growing areas.

Jute genome decoding shows value of funding research (Dhaka Tribune, August 19, 2013) A team of Bangladeshi scientists have successfully decoded the genome sequence of a local variety of jute plant, opening up a new vista in the development of the golden fibre. Maksudul Alam, a professor of the University of Hawaii, who earlier decoded the genome of papaya in the U.S. and rubber plant in Malaysia, led from the forefront in sequencing the jute genome. Experts said the discoveries would help improve the fibre length and quality, including colors and strength, and develop high yielding, saline soil- and pest-tolerant jute varieties through genetic engineering.

Four state banks to get Tk 5,000cr (The Daily Star, August 19, 2013)

The government will inject Tk 5,000 crore into four state-owned commercial banks to make up for the significant capital shortfall that has alarmed both the World Bank and the IMF. On June 30, the capital shortfall of Sonali, Janata, Agrani and Rupali banks stood at Tk 9,062 crore, according to statistics from the central bank. The capital shortfall in the banks had also prompted the International Monetary Fund to impose a condition on the government saying that it will have to recapitalise the banks to help them meet the deficits by the end of the current fiscal year.

Bangladesh risks losing EU leather market (The Financial Express, August 19, 2013)

Bangladesh risks losing the country's largest leather export market -European Union - as work on the tannery estate development project in Savar will not be completed before June 2016. According to the Minister for Industries, the reasons for delay in the relocation were non-cooperation from the tanners along with a number of legal complexities in the shifting the tanneries. The EU, the leading destination of the country's leather exports, had threatened to stop buying products from Bangladesh beyond 2014 if the CETP (Central Effluent Treatment Plant) is not established in the industrial zone by then.

Free regulator, only (The Daily Star, August 18, 2013)

Leading civil engineers and architects at a recent discussion on updated version of Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) and building safety organized by The Daily Star came up with the following problems areas and some possible suggestions:

·         An independent commission should be formed and local government bodies, like a municipality, and development control authority, like Rajuk, aspiring to obtain from this commission the authority to approve building construction must have competent manpower to qualify.

·         To look into the matter that high-rise buildings are being constructed on land meant for parks and gardens.

·         Testing facilities at BSTI should be upgraded. Also there should be a single window so that people do not have to run to 20 different places to obtain permission and services before constructing buildings.

·         It should be investigated that many government agencies and public institutions that do not follow the building codes.

·         The building code should be regularly updated.

·         Proper land use planning is vital, as the country is losing 1 percent of its cultivable land to housing and industrialisation.

·         Soil tests (geotechnical examination) of a building’s foundation must be carried out only by a licensed professional.

·         There must be coordination among service providers (Titas, Wasa, Desa etc) as their works had been overlapping.

·         Should launch an awareness campaign to convince the people that it would not cost much if they build their buildings with proper designs from the certified professionals. Around 90 percent building drawings submitted to Rajuk were not made by certified professionals, but by draftsmen.