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The government officials and researchers are less aware than non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and private stakeholders of the pledges Bangladesh has made to the United Nations regarding reduction of carbon emission, according to a study. Around 70 per cent of the government officials are informed about the government's commitment, which is the lowest among the South Asian countries, said the study of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB). On the other hand, almost cent per cent NGOs and private stakeholders are aware of such commitment of the government. The Bangladesh chapter of the Berlin-based watchdog presented findings of the study on 'Nations' commitment with the UN to adapt climate change' at a press conference held in its city office on Monday. The government and academic groups in Bangladesh are, however, more aware of energy-efficient technologies than private players and NGOs, said the study. The study showed that perception on using rail and water transport systems to reduce GHG (greenhouse gas) emission is much lower among private players, too. The same is true for energy efficient fans to reduce CO2 emission. Executive Director of the TIB Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, its advisor Professor Dr Sumaiya Khair, director of Asian Centre for Development Professor Dr A K Enamul Haque and senior programme manager of TIB's Climate Finance Governance unit M. Zakir Hossain Khan attended the press conference among others. Dr A K Enamul Haque presented the findings of the study. Explaining the background of the study, he said governments of 165 countries pledged to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to reduce carbon emission in their respective region following Paris agreement in 2015. The study was conducted to know about efforts of the South Asian countries and the level of awareness among the stakeholders. According to the study, though the governments of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives pledged to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, the levels of awareness vary in case of different stakeholders.   In each of the six countries, the government offices are less aware than the non-government ones, the study revealed. The study report has been prepared based on 140 stakeholders' opinions from six South Asian countries, collected via e-mail within a period from November last year to April this year with the help of researchers from other South Asian countries, said Dr Enamul Haque. The study report also presented a set of recommendations for greenhouse effects based on experts' opinion including lessening traffic jam in cities, development of urban transport and enhancing city traffic controlling systems. The experts of South Asian countries also suggested developing skill for power generation, change in fuel use in brick kilns, popularising energy-efficient electronic goods and implementation of fuel auditing system in factories. The TIB study report recommended that the South Asian governments further scrutinise the measures so far taken to check greenhouse effect. Incentive-based policies to promote energy-efficient production and consumption should be prioritised to reduce GHG emissions in the South Asian countries, it said. It also recommended that the development partners provide assistance to the six countries to examine their public policies in terms of tax, subsidy and other regulations to create incentives for firms to become energy efficient and thus contribute to reducing GHG emission. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Iftekharuzzaman said though not a polluting country, Bangladesh has been playing an efficient role to reduce the negative impact of climate change since the topic came into light across the globe. "Bangladesh formed a fund with own finance for climate change adaptation prior to the availability of foreign aid, which is very inspiring for us," he said. Carbon-emitting sources including power plants in South Asian countries are in the hands of governments, the TIB ED said, adding that the key responsibilities are to be vested with the government. "The study, however, showed that private sector and individuals can also contribute to the efforts, besides the government," he added.     saif.febd@gmail.com....

Published at: 2017-07-25 00:00:04

The authorities of Chittagong Tax Zone-4 have bought a boat for its officials to commute through waist-deep water on streets during rains and tide, reports bdnews24.com. The people, coming to the office at Road No. 1 in the Chittagong Development Area (CDA) near the main road of Agrabad to pay taxes, are also taking the boat ride. The streets in the area often go under water when there is a little downpour or during tide. Taxmen working in the area said they had to pay fares for rickshaw ride to the office from Badamtoli regularly - so there was the inventive step of buying a boat to travel on the road. "Water clogs on the street almost every day. It hampers commuting of the officials and employees as well as office work. That's why we've bought the boat," Tax Commissioner for the area Ahmed Ullah told the news agency on Sunday. The tax office spent around Tk 26,000 to buy the boat two weeks ago. A guard of the office operates it. According to UNB, most of the low-lying areas in the port city went under knee-deep to waist-deep water due to heavy rain for the last two days, causing suffering to city dwellers. A total of 165.6 millimetres of rains were recorded in 24 hours. Meanwhile, a flight of Regent Airways was forced to land at the Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka as it could not land at the Shah Amanat International Airport due to bad weather. The flight came from Muscat, capital of Oman, around 8:00 am, but could not manage to land at the airport due to bad weather, said manager of Shah Amanat International Airport wing commander Riazul Karim. However, other flights landed at the airport safely.....

Published at: 2017-07-25 00:00:04

International promoters are rallying hundreds of Chinese companies under one roof in Beijing to motivate them to choose Bangladesh as a highly potential investment destination. UK-based financial-publication Euromoney will organise the daylong China-Bangladesh Investment Forum on August 21. Local private commercial bank City Bank and global financial giant Standard Chartered will be the lead sponsors, sources said. The Forum will focus on investment and bilateral trade opportunities between China and Bangladesh and the growing opportunities resulting from China's 'One Belt, One Road (OBOR)' initiative, authorities concerned said Monday at a press conference in Dhaka.   It will also provide a platform for discussion on many important topics, such as infrastructure, FDI, financial and capital markets and the like. The participants will have a valuable chance to learn more about the business environment in Bangladesh and the potential areas for cooperation, they added. Finance Minister AMA Muhith is expected to deliver the keynote address at the daylong forum, planned at a time when major developments are taking place under the flagship agenda of Chinese President Xi Jinping.    This is the seventh such international investment forum co-hosted by City Bank and Standard Chartered. The two entities previously had organized similar investment forums in Singapore, Hong Kong and London. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bangladesh said, "China is today the largest trading partner of Bangladesh and this relationship will continue to grow." Mr Abrar added: "Chinese FDI has been steadily flowing into Bangladesh, with investments going into critical sectors like power, infrastructure and textiles."     He further said, "With over 4700 categories of Bangladesh products enjoying duty-free access to China's massive consumer market, Bangladesh's export to China is also set to rise significantly in the coming years." Focusing on China's Belt and Road initiative, the SCB CEO informed that in 2016 alone, Standard Chartered was involved in nearly 10 deals related to B&R in the South Asia region. "We have footprints in 46 of the Belt & Road countries, particularly in the regions with the most dynamic activities, including South East Asia, South Asia and Africa," Anwar said. "With increasing economic co-operation with China, Bangladesh can truly benefit from the opportunities arising out of the OBOR initiative," Managing Director and CEO of City Bank Sohail R. K. Hussain told the press. "Bangladesh and China can cooperate in many areas under the OBOR initiative such as road communications, communication bandwidth, seaport, power and gas, and IT. There are also huge opportunities for attracting FDI in industries such as leather, RMG, food processing, pharmaceuticals and agriculture."    Speaking on the occasion, Economic and Commercial Counselor of China in Bangladesh Li Guangjun said there are scopes for relocating some labour-intensive industries from China to Bangladesh.   "However, the lack of skilled workforce as well as the impediments in terms of transportation, customs clearance and other issues need to be addressed to utilize such scopes," the diplomat said. President of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh Lin Weiqiang also spoke at the conference. mehdi.finexpress@gmail.com....

Published at: 2017-07-25 00:00:04

A national project aimed at combating the financing of terrorism and tracking the movement of terrorists will be launched today (Tuesday) with the support of World Customs Organisation (WCO). Home, commerce and civil aviation ministries and the customs authorities under the National Board of Revenue (NBR) will jointly implement the project with technical support from the Japanese government. A high-powered delegation of the WCO, led by its Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya, is now in Dhaka to attend the launching ceremony of the 'WCO security project' to be held at a city hotel. The NBR held a meeting with the four-member WCO mission on Monday in preparation for the launching ceremony of the project. The Japanese government would provide technical know-how through the WCO to build capacity for the project activities. Officials said the WCO agreed to provide support to the government to ensure border security through addressing possible challenges, enhancing the capacity of customs administration and introducing advanced system for getting passengers' detailed information. Under the project, the Programme Global Shield (PGS) would be used to prevent entry of chemicals or devices intended to be used in Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), they said. The project will also check smuggling of small arms and light weapons (SALW) by terrorists. To assess the risk of passengers, the project would help get Advance Passenger Information (API) and use Passenger Name Records (PNR). The project would help combat terrorism financing through monitoring and unearthing illegal overseas businesses and cases of money laundering. A senior customs official said movement of passengers through customs ports can be tracked with advance information. So, terrorists can easily be traced using this system, he added. The project would focus on the country's need for reducing availability and use of SALW and checking smuggling of weapons in the international supply chain. The WCO, which has 182 member countries across the world, has initiated the 'WCO security programme' for its member countries in the Asia-pacific region to help the customs administrations to combat terrorism financing and ensure border security. It agreed to provide support to Bangladesh in seven areas under Marcator programme.   After the terror attacks in Bangladesh and Indonesia in 2016, it has become important to monitor the movement of foreign terrorists in international airports, officials said. This initiative would also ensure international trade security alongside strengthening the border security, they added. doulot_akter@yahoo.com....

Published at: 2017-07-25 00:00:04

Roadside stalls have marked a significant rise over the last few years in and around the city due mainly to the increasing demand of the growing population for foods and other edible products, insiders have said. Besides, many unemployed people find such roadside business lucrative with vested quarters helping them in carrying out such trading. "I think such roadside stalls have been increasing by more than 10 per cent over the last few years," said Md Helal Uddin, president of the Bangladesh Dokan Malik Samity. He said there are around 70,000 roadside food shops in Dhaka, most of which are located in the busiest parts of the city. He said the main reasons behind the rise in the number of such shops are the increasing population in the city, easy access to foods and employment opportunities. "I think, it is good for our economy as indirectly such shops are also contributing to it," he added. But he said, quality is the main concern for such shops and their acceptability would be significant if they could provide quality products. "Mainly roadside tea, snack and fruit stalls should ensure quality so that customers get hygienic foods," he added. Talking to the FE, some traders of such roadside stalls said the number of customers has increased at their stalls. Khurshid Alam, a roadside tea stall owner at the city's Moghbazar area, said instead of doing low-paid job, he decided to open the shop five years ago. He said at that time there were comparatively few shops in his area. "However, sales of my outlet have increased although such shops have also increased in the area," he said. He said his average daily sales are now worth around Tk 5,000 to Tk 7,000. "I can earn Tk 800 to Tk 1,400 daily," he added. Mr Khurshid Alam said though he does not pay any rent for the space he has occupied, he has to give Tk 30 to the police as line fee everyday and Tk 50 to Tk 100 on most days to local political elements. Mohammad Shahporan, a fruit seller at the city's New Market area told the  FE that when he came to Dhaka from his village four years ago, he could not find any suitable work. He said, then with the help of his friend, he started selling fruits on a small scale which he gradually expanded. He said now he can sell fruits worth around Tk 2,000 to Tk 2,500 daily. Sales are also increasing gradually. Shamsul Islam, a betel-leaf and cigarette seller in the city's Nilkhet area, said his sales also increased. "I can earn around Tk 400 to Tk 500 daily from my small stall," he said. Abu Taher, a tea and snack stall owner at the Paltan area, said he is also happy with the daily sales at his shop. "I can earn around Tk 1,200 to Tk 1,500 from this small shop a day," he said. Talking to the FE, some customers of such stalls expressed their mixed reactions. Masud Rana, a private service holder, who was having snacks from a roadside stall in the New Market area, said most of the time he takes tea, snacks and fruits from the stalls. He said the main benefits of visiting such stalls are easy access and comparatively low prices of products. "Besides, such shops provide solutions when we are on the road and want to have instant foods or tea," he said. He said quality of products is the main concern at such stalls which should be ensured. "Sometimes, we see that they are not selling hygienic foods or quality of their products is below the standard which should be improved," he added. Another customer Ratan Kumar, who was having tea with his friend at a roadside stall in the Paltan area, said very often they go to such stalls for having tea, snacks and other low-priced products. "I think such stalls will be more popular if quality could be ensured," he added. However, a survey, conducted on Street Food Vending in Dhaka by Benjamin Etzold of the German- based research organisation Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC) and Md. Afjal Hossain of the GIZ Bangladesh, found that 52 per cent of the respondents consume different kinds of street foods on a daily basis whereas 23 per cent said they never eat any such foods. wazeddu@yahoo.com....

Published at: 2017-07-25 00:00:04