High time to free nation of IFIs’ influence

Economists at a workshop yesterday said that it was the high time to free the nation from the influence of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) including World Bank and IMF upholding sovereignty in policy making.

Suggestions of the IFIs’ are always anti-people and countries like Bangladesh have incurred irreparable loss in different sectors by pursuing their policies, the experts and eminent citizens said.

The two-day third South Asian Workshop on ’International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and Debt’, was jointly organised by South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE), Institute of Environment and Development (IED) , CADTM international network (www.cadtm.org) and Vikas Adhyayan Kendra (VAK) at YWCA auditorium here.

Justice Golam Rabbani inaugurated the opening session of the workshop while director of India-based VAK Ajit Muricken was in the chair. Delegates from India, Pakistan and Belgium took part in the inaugural session of the international workshop with SAAPE Bangladesh Chapter focal person Rokeya Kabir moderating.

Economist Prof Anu Mohammad presented a keynote paper on IFIs and their impact in Bangladesh while economist Prof. Dr MM Akash on the global economic crisis. Eric Toussaint of Belgium-based Committee for Abolition of Third World Debt presented another paper on the global economic crisis.

Justice Golam Rabbani said the debt burden by World Bank and IMF is causing immense sufferings to the teeming millions of Bangladesh. "Every citizen has the right to get public services and it affects each of the citizens especially the poorer section when public services are privatised," he added.

Prof Anu Muhammad said the IFIs have always put pressure for trade liberalisation and privatisation that made health, education and livelihood of millions of poor people costly.

Eric Toussaint said the South Asian nations are now confronting the debt crisis and the world’s capitalism is singularly responsible for it.

Prof MM Akash said, "Bangladesh can withstand by ignoring the wrong prescription of IMF and World Bank as the country has a satisfactory foreign currency reserve with a positive balance of payment."

He said the World Bank and the IMF have become morally weak as the global economic crisis has already exposed their erroneous stances while prescribing policies.

"The world, especially the Third World, is bearing the consequence of the wrong economic policy of these two institutions," he said.