A controversy has arisen over banning the access of journalists to Bangladesh Bank. Is this decision of the central bank logical? Does it hinder the freedom of the press? So why was this decision made? Shawkat Hossain has found the answer to that question in this article
Bangladesh Bank has imposed restrictions on the entry of journalists. The central bank has said that journalists will have to wait to meet an official. Then the access will be given only if the specific official wants to meet. Bangladesh probably learned this from India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. He also gave a similar ban on entering the finance ministry in 2019.
At that time, it was said from the Ministry of Finance of the country that well-equipped air-conditioned rest rooms have been constructed outside gate number two of the North Block. There will be a constant supply of water, tea and coffee. Journalists will be waiting there. He will come and meet the official who wants to meet, if he is informed.
There was strong protest across the country. Journalist organizations also made a statement saying that this is another step in taking away the freedom of the media. Shobna K Nair, deputy editor of The Hindu, wrote jokingly about the incident, ‘Aha! If all the news writing information was available while sitting in the rest room, how much easier the life of journalists would be!’
But journalists don’t want this easy life. And as we all know, what the government wants to tell is actually a press release, and what it wants to hide is news. And to get that hidden news you need ‘source’ in media language. And this source is not created sitting in the restroom. The better the source, the better the journalist. Someone do proper journalism here—it’s not what the government wants.
But developed countries give the highest importance to the freedom of the media for the sake of democracy. Because, the media actually ensures the transparency and accountability of the government. Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark or the Netherlands, which top the media freedom index, offer free access to any government office.
In the United States, those who regularly visit the State Department, the White House or other government offices for news gathering are issued a one-time pass. In France, journalists are officially given a card after three months of experience. These card holders can freely enter museums, cinemas or any exhibition apart from government offices.
On the other hand, the countries that do not practice democracy, those who do not want to be accountable, try to prevent the work of journalists. For this reason, the law even closes the access from time to time.
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Now let’s talk about personal experience. From the beginning of his journalistic life, he had been going to and from Bangladesh Bank. The incident happened in 1996. Managing Director of Agrani Bank was Mustafa Aminur Rashid. Allegations of irregular loans were raised against him. An inquiry committee was formed under the chairmanship of Bangladesh Bank Executive Director Sultan Ahmed Mollah. The committee also submits a report after a detailed inspection. It detailed at least 25 types of irregularities. The report went into the freezer due to political influence.
Bangladesh Bank was disappointed that no action was taken against anyone despite preparing a report with specific evidence. After receiving that report from a reliable ‘source’, a series of reports were printed in the newspaper. The term of service of Agrani Bank MD has not been extended.
Those series of reports angered the government. Mahbubur Rahman Khan was the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank at that time. He invited her for tea one day. Cha Khaye said, nothing can be done that destroys the customer’s confidence in the financial sector. I just asked if there was any mistake in the published report. He could not give that answer; Rather, his interest was to know how I got the report. He also did not get an answer.
When the Awami League government was formed in 1996, Mohammad Farasuddin became the governor of Bangladesh Bank. During his time the Deputy Governor was Khondkar Ibrahim Khaled. Both of them knew what was happening in which bank. Let me tell you the story of one day. Sonali Bank was taking the initiative of irregularly giving huge loans to a politically influential person without collateral. I got this information from a ‘source’ of Bangladesh Bank. When the news was printed, the Central Bank suspended lending in the interest of the country based on the information published in the newspaper. Such incidents happened several times.
At that time, Bangladesh Bank and state-owned banks had a strong influence of employee unions. Officials also showed influence by various associations. Behind them was political power. Land grabbing, debt sharing and bartering were their major sources of income. There were also instances where senior bankers were beaten up. In addition, there was the power of influential big businessmen. Two big businessmen threatened a central bank governor. Whenever the Central Bank could not take any action against them due to political or other reasons, journalists would get the news. We wrote, the government was under pressure, the central bank took measures.
Journalists have been the central bank’s partner in the war against defaulters since the 1990s. The steps taken by Mohammad Farasuddin to reduce the arbitrariness of private bank managers received wide support from the journalists. Everything was not done for personal gain, but also aimed at establishing good governance in the banking sector. At that time, Bangladesh Bank and journalists were one party. And those who threatened, they were another party.
That opponent has actually changed. Now the bank grabbers, the defaulters, the patriarchal bank managers and the central bank—all are one party. Protecting each other’s interests is their main task. As a result, loan embezzlers like PK Halder were created with the patronage of Sur Chowdhury and Shah Alam, banks of influential owners got various privileges, bank owners fixed the interest policy of the central bank, defaulters got various discounts.
Now who is whose people, who has been appointed on whose recommendation, who has hosted whom in which country—those are the main issues. The less written about them, the better for central banks, governments, compliant bankers and unfairly opportunistic businessmen. At such a time, journalists will be banned in Bangladesh Bank – that is normal.
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What the communication policy of a country’s central bank should be is now a topic of discussion around the world. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has prepared a handbook called ‘Central Bank Communications’ in January 2022 on the communication policy of the central bank. The whole world is still struggling with inflation. The central bank is primarily responsible for controlling inflation. This is done through successful implementation of monetary policy.
Whether the central bank is able to fulfill this responsibility properly or not, how transparently it is being done, there needs to be accountability. This is why the IMF believes that central banks need to have a good communication policy. In the handbook, they said, from experts to ordinary people, governments, politicians, parliamentarians and central bank watchers should clearly communicate the objectives and implementation principles of monetary policy. This ensures both accountability and independence of the central bank. Central bank independence and accountability are actually two sides of the same coin.
In addition to journalists, those who monitor the central bank, the IMF said the handbook should also be trusted. But the opposite is happening in Bangladesh. Journalists are banned. And when observers, especially economists, say something, the central bank reacts, their knowledge of economics is questioned. Even the governor commented that the credit rating agencies of the world have downgraded the credit rating of Bangladesh for political purposes. Central banks can do well to read the IMF’s handbook on how to communicate with everyone to make their policies successful.