Attractive figures
Alif Zabr, Dhaka
The bell is tolling in the data processing temple at the specialists' level. An independent NGO, specialising in economic analysis, is critical of the official draft projections of the national growth rate (approaching 7 pc?), as speculated from a news item in The Daily Star of Jan. 8.What is the difference between an economist and an accountant? The more topical issue is that interested groups (inside a body try scientifically to boost up development figures, fiddling with the rate of growth, to attract more attention and aid in cash or kind). The UN is not the panacea for all economic ills in the third world. In an LDC, where a mere 10 per cent of the population control 80 per cent of the economy and cash flow, the theories in the books go by default. Cooking figures do not make the meat tender; and it is difficult to change one's hide (or skin-what is the difference these days?). Statistical cosmetics and make-up are old art; while the proof of the pudding lies in the eating. There is partiality in the pantry, before the dinner is served to all groups of citizens. Money is round and made to roll; or is it flat and made to pile up? Notice the two sides of the Farakka dam coin, the way the ACC is stalled, and the mysteries in EC policies. How the state is to be run is an endless issue. Tolerance and patience are too narrow based for national consensus. Wait and see? No more after 35 years of love's labour lost.
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