The energy advisor claims that the increase in fuel cost will not raise prices. I would suggest he conduct a simple exercise, calculate the increased cost of production in one of his companies, then decide whether he can afford to not pass the cost along to consumers. While it is easy to justify increasing the cost of imported petroleum products, if for no other reason than to curb smuggling, it is difficult to justify the cost of locally available gas that isn't smuggled out. Moreover it would be much more effective to reduce waste in the energy sector, especially in the gas and electricity sectors. We have a system loss of around 30% in the electricity sector and the loss in the gas sector is incalculable because of the lack of metering in the domestic market.

It is also important to study the impact of neo-colonial organisations such as the World Bank and IMF. Lets not forget the IMF role in the Asian financial crisis where the only country to come out unscathed was Malaysia which openly refused IMF guidelines. The Bretton Woods system was formulated on the deathbed of the colonial infrastructure and its stated purpose has always been at odds with its actions which had the net effect of transferring wealth from poorer countries to richer ones.

Why do ADB personnel fly flags on their cars?

The rant about the IMF brings us to the next oddity. Since when did the authorities of a commercial for-profit bank become a sovereign entity? Who issued permission for ADB personnel to fly flags and what's behind the reasoning. I think we have a right to know who our government recognises as a sovereign entity. If bankers are allowed to have flags, I want a job at a bank. Oriental Bank anyone? Perhaps that's why such banks get to dictate policy.

Why do Biman workers get a golden handshake and jute mill labourers don't even get past dues?

Tk 3 billion to implement the golden handshake program for 1,600 employees. That's a staggering Tk 1.9 million apiece. That's a lot of gold. Guess who's supporting this scheme? The World Bank, another other Bretton Woods partner.

The 3 billion figure comes up in another place. That's exactly how much the 3,000 laid of workers of Peoples Jute Mills are owed in back wages. Not to mention they were kicked out of their homes and schools under threat of forfeiting those back wages and by the men in black with a license to kill guarding the gates.

So we have 20 billion in debt of Biman to be wiped out. Billions more being used to buy and lease new planes, 1.5 kilograms of gold for each golden handshake. All paid for by laid off workers of a jute mill.

Why do we have money for speed-breakers and none for potholes or footpaths?

O.K. time to stop pretending I'm pro-poor. Actually I'm totally against poverty. I like my car. Everyone should be able to afford one. When it comes to driving speed-breakers are one of my pet peeves. Why do we have so many of them? And to add to my miseries, thanks to the money spent of speed-breakers we have none left over to fix the potholes. Why not just dig trenches along potholes to serve as speed-breakers instead of having both potholes and speed-breakers.

Why do we have police check-posts all over the city when they haven't caught a single criminal?

Another major annoyance as I'm napping in my car is the check-posts all over the city. Maybe I haven't gotten the right fashion consultant because my car always gets stopped going to Gulshan. So I've taken to surveying the police at the check-posts. Over the past year I've been stopped a total of 13 times. All those check-posts reported that they found no weapons, one bottle of liquor and no known criminals. I also asked the "bomb squad" at the Sheraton what's their protocol if they do find a bomb under a car. (Apparently that's the only possible place to stash bombs). After thinking for a while one of them said: "I'll be running for my life."

What's the point of a train service to India which doesn't save time, money or hassle?

So the train service will start from Cantonment station, get you to Kolkata in 12 hours, make you deal with immigration midway through your nap and it'll cost more than a bus. What do I get for my extra money and extra time? A chance to walk around and use a toilet. No thanks; I think I'll stick to the bus for now.

Saifuddin Ahmed studied Economics in Oberlin College US. He has worked in IT consulting, animation and most recently in the poultry sector in Bangladesh. He now operates his own agro-business.