Ushering a change: Reform initiatives taken in 2024

Illustration: TBS

Bangladesh went through major reforms in economy, banking, law, judiciary, constitution, and administration in the year 2024. The interim government, tasked with building a discrimination-free society, inherited a fragile economy and a society with deteriorating law and order situation. But slowly and steadily, the government delivered some positive changes with reforms in state institutions and policies.

Reform was the most talked about issue in Bangladesh in 2024. The student-led mass uprising in July began with the demand to reform the quota system in government jobs. 

In face of violent protests demanding the abolition of the quota system which reserves only 44% of government job recruitments based on merit, on 23 July, the Awami League government issued a gazette notification increasing the merit quota to 93%, while reducing the quota for freedom fighters and their descendants to 5%, 1% for ethnic minorities and 1% for the third gender and disabled. But too much blood had been shed by then and the movement turned into a mass uprising calling for change in government. 

After the fall of the AL regime, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus-led interim government was sworn-in on 8 August. The new government promised to conduct sweeping reforms at all levels of state institutions. 

In an address to the nation on 25 August, Yunus said, "Free, fair, and participatory elections will be organised by completing necessary reforms in the administration, judiciary, election commission and electoral system, the law and order sector, and ensuring information flow to make the student revolution a success."

Reforms initiatives were welcomed by not only the people of the country but also foreign governments and international donor agencies. The goal of the reforms was to put in place checks and balances strong and sturdy enough to prevent another autocrat from emerging.

Reform commissions

Soon after taking office, the interim government formed a number of commissions that were tasked to propose and recommend reforms in the state.

Initially, in September, the interim government formed six reform commissions aiming to address structural improvements in the electoral system, police, judiciary, public administration, the constitution, and the anti-corruption body.

In October, four new reform commissions were formed on health, mass media, labour rights and women affairs. In November, a local government reform commission was formed.

The reform commissions were directed to submit their recommendations within 90 days, so the commissions should submit their reports by January 2025. In the meantime, most of the commissions presented some of their recommendations to the media.

Finance and banking

The interim government formed a ten-member committee led by economist Debapriya Bhattacharya to prepare a white paper on the state of Bangladesh's economy. The committee, in its report submitted in November, recommended some measures for the government to boost the confidence of foreign investors and lenders

Stressing the need for a comprehensive policy response to address these barriers and revive both domestic and foreign investment, it suggested the government convene a forum to have wide-ranging discussions with international development partners and investors in early 2025 which would help the government articulate the medium-term development aspirations and the associated reform agenda of the country and mobilise financial and technical support.

The white paper examines systemic issues like corruption, inefficiencies, and institutional weaknesses, aiming to enhance transparency, accountability, and sustainable development in Bangladesh. 

Meanwhile, the interim government implemented several measures to stabilise the dollar market.

In August, it expanded the allowable band for inter-bank foreign exchange transactions from 1% to 2.5% to enhance liquidity. Under the current crawling peg system, with a mid-rate set at Tk117 for example, banks can now add 2.5%, raising the rate up to Tk120. This adjustment allowed banks to offer slightly higher rates.

To reform the banking sector, the Bangladesh Bank formed a taskforce in September. Meanwhile, in several phases, the Bangladesh Bank reconstituted the boards of several banks to remove beneficiaries of the previous government.

The Bangladesh Bank has also decided not to prop up troubled banks by printing money and instead facilitated liquidity support from the interbank money market, allowing well-off banks to lend to struggling ones. Other initiatives include stopping the practice of lending US dollars from the foreign exchange reserves and allowing market forces to determine the exchange rates and interest rates.

To ease price hike of commodities, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) reduced and withdrew duties on the import of rice, onions, and potatoes. It was also decided that daily commodities could be imported without a letter of credit (LC) or LC margin, and there would be no limit on borrowing from banks for companies importing food, daily commodities, and fertilisers.

In October, an advisory committee was formed to reform the NBR, and a task force was formed to review the NBR Income Tax Act 2023 and propose recommendations for reform. The advisory committee has proposed separating policy formulation responsibilities of the NBR from revenue collection.

Meanwhile, the government scrapped opportunities for whitening black money.

Also, it has been made mandatory to submit online income tax returns for government employees, bankers, employees of mobile operator companies, and officers and employees of some major companies located in income tax circles within Dhaka North, Dhaka South, Narayanganj, and Gazipur city corporations

To prevent corruption among government employees and ensure transparency and accountability, instructions were issued requiring all government officials to submit wealth statements. Directions were also issued to submit wealth statements for all judicial officers.

The government has also formed a task force to improve the stock market, increase investor confidence, ensure good governance to international standards, and make recommendations for reforms. 

Judiciary and constitution

In September, Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed declared a reform roadmap for judiciary, laying out a blueprint for institutional reform aimed at restoring public trust, ensuring efficiency, and upholding judicial independence.

He announced a plan to set up a separate secretariat for the judiciary to ensure that the judicial system remains independent from the Ministry of Law.

Meanwhile, the Judiciary Reform Commission recommended a constitutional amendment with a provision to appoint the senior-most judge of the Appellate Division as chief justice, curbing presidential discretion in the matter.

It also recommended the formation of a commission called the 'Supreme Court Judge Appointment Commission' consisting nine members for the appointment of judges in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.

In October, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court reinstated the Supreme Judicial Council by dismissing the state's petition against the ruling that declared the 16th amendment of the constitution illegal. 

This amendment had previously allowed parliament the power to remove Supreme Court judges. The decision restored the authority of the Supreme Judicial Council to oversee such matters, making the judiciary safe from political interference.

In December, the High Court declared illegal the relevant article of the 15th Amendment to the constitution that abolished the caretaker government system and mandated elections under a partisan government. Additionally, several other provisions, including the removal of the referendum system under Article 142, which was replaced in the amendment, have also been declared illegal.

The verdict removed a major obstacle to the revival of the caretaker government system and simultaneously restored the provision for referendums.

There is an ongoing debate whether the constitution should be amended or entirely rewritten. Many say that rewriting the constitution would be time-consuming and politically divisive while others favour a new constitution, arguing that the present one has been used to oppress the people of the country.

Meanwhile, the government has abolished the Cyber Security Act, and taken initiatives to withdraw all cases filed under the act as well as its predecessors.

A decision was made not to renew quick rental contracts under the controversial 'Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provision) Act 2010.' Two national committees were formed to review contracts on power and energy under this act.

It has also been decided to cancel the clause allowing electricity price increases by executive order.

In addition, the High Court has declared two sections of the act illegal and void, ruling them unconstitutional. These sections granted the energy minister exclusive authority over agreements with quick rental power plants and provided immunity from legal obligations to quick rentals.

Public administration

The Public Administration Reform Commission has recommended increasing the maximum age for applying for government jobs to 35 years for men and 37 years for women.

The government, however, issued an ordinance fixing the maximum age for applying for public service jobs to 32 years.

The Public Administration Reform Commission also recommended the abolition of police verification for government job recruitment, passports, and other purposes.

The commission has also decided to recommend promotions to the posts of deputy secretary and joint secretary through examinations.

Additionally, the commission is set to propose that 50% of promotions to the post of deputy secretary be allocated to officials from the administration cadre and the remaining 50% to officials from other cadres. This decision sparked protest from officials from the public administration officials 

Education cadre officials, on the other hand, disagree with the commission's proposed recommendation of removing education and health cadres from the cadre system.

Election 

The Election Reform Commission has proposed several recommendations, including a direct presidential election, repealing the system of elected unopposed and returning to the no-vote system.

The commission also recommended ensuring transparency in the funds spent by candidates for electioneering.

Furthermore, the reform commission is likely to propose changes to the Election Commission's powers and responsibilities.

The Local Government Reform Commission is set to propose arranging polls of all local government bodies including city corporations, municipalities, upazilas and union parishads on the same day to save both money and time.

Law enforcement

The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearance, formed to to identify and find out the people made disappeared forcibly by the law enforcement agencies, have recommended disbanding the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

The commission chairman said they would submit another interim report in March 2025 and would require at least another year to complete the scrutiny of all allegations they received.

The Police Reform Commission has recommended law enforcement agencies disclose their identity while conducting raids. The commission has also decided to propose limits on the use of lethal weapons by police. Proposals also include a new logo and uniform for police.

The commission has suggested restricting the authority of police commissioner to prohibit people's right to hold assembly or procession. 

Other sectors

Initiatives have been launched to stop the use of single-use plastics in all government offices in the country. The use of plastic bags in super shops has been banned, and instructions have been issued to stop the use of listed single-use plastics and banned polythene bags in hotels, restaurants, and all court premises in the country.

A committee was formed to establish a legal structure for naming government institutions. Meanwhile, the names of at least 20 institutions, which were named after the Sheikh family, were changed.

A decision was made to transform 'Gonobhaban' into the 'July Movement Memorial Museum'. It was also decided not to observe eight days at national level, including the historic 7th March.

The interim government's reform initiatives are being confronted with calls from political leaders for elections as soon as possible. However, many feel that now is the time to conduct reforms as the country may not have such an opportunity in the future. Past experiences suggest that the longer the interim government stays in power, the louder calls for early elections will get. 

Reforms are far from over as what has been done by the AL government in 15 years cannot be undone in less than a year. The interim government has a lot of tasks ahead in the coming year. Judging by the reform work done so far, we can hope that the government will meet the aspirations of people of all generations.