DACCA: Bangladesh Government said ... that corrupt practices under the Mujib administration had led to galloping inflation and brought the nation to the verge of collapse. A 2,000-word White Paper prepared by an economic task force appointed by President Khondkar Mushtaq Ahmed said the country was suffering from hyper-inflation of the order of 430 per cent using 1969-70 as the base period. It said much of the nation’s troubles were due to an economic oligarchy “that ultimately gave rise to financial anarchy. The process had led to the emergence of a handful of fluke millionaires who were congenitally corrupt and responsible for undermining the traditional values of society,” the document added.

Bangladesh might have to import food worth 400 million dollars this year because of the policies of the former government, it said. Bad industrial policies and poor management and sales promotion campaigns had led to low production and a slump in exports. … The White Paper said the main task of the new government was to put the economy back on an even keel and bring back sanity, rationality and discipline in economic policy and management.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2025