& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Problems Plague Industries

by Kazi Alauddin Ahmed
A nears Item appeared In a leading vern acular daily recently glaving an analysis of production coat of jute goods Hits follows aa
Manufacturing of one ton Hessian cloth costs al Adamjee Jute Mills Ltd Tk 59.382 00 and at Latif Hawany Jute Mills Ltd. Tk 30.835 00 This Is sold abroad at Tk 25,000 00 only to which government pays subsidy at the rate of 28 per cent
Manufacturing of one ton sacking cloth coots; 1) Adamjee Jute Mills Ltd Tk 44.178 00 It) PJJM Mills Ltd Tk 20.432 00 This Is sold at Tk 16.000.00 per ton
Manufacturing of one ton carpet backing costs 1) Adamjee Jute Mills Ltd Tk 60,786.00 it) Latif Hawany Jute Mills Ltd Tk 34 66® 00 tit) Karaaphuli Jute Mills Ltd Tk 32,373 00
In practice, tlie dollar value of Jute added to the bonus/ subsidy comes to Tk 09 00 and not Tk 42 00 Such Inflationary onslaught is ransacking the national economy
Turning to the demand for wage hike the report appor Honed the cost of wages and salary from total cost of production as 1) Adamjee Jute Mills Ltd. wages — 49% of production cost and employees' salary - 11% ti) Karim Jute Mills Ltd. wages — 28% of production cost and employees' salary —8%
Deterrent Factors
The revelation above was reportedly made in the course of a discussion on the prospect of raising the wages of the one lakh workers employed In the Jute sector alone. Il did. however. highlight the overall an archie situation obtaining In this particular industrial sector vis-a-vis tn other sectors of industry. And if we allow ourselves an objective analysis of such an Intriguing situation, we shall be able to identify the causes behind. They are:
Carrying forward the accumulated loss emerging from total mismanagement and large-scale corrupt practices for long Acute dirth of trained and capable managers. Unpractical production plan nlng and faulty implementation policy; indifference of man agement to regular mainte nance and repair of machinery and equipment Hazy Idea and ineptitude amongst workforce on quality control of goods produced: Procrastination in procurement of raw materials, underhand collusion between the suppliers and officers/ employees with vested interest at the cost of ap proved quality and prices: Ever tncreasing size of inventory and conse quent unpro ducUve invest merit. Lapses in marketing and sales manage ment of goods produce and unholy gambles by vested In terests: Inconsistent man power planning and over em ploy me nt. Environmental Imb alance. innate weaknesses of management, labour-unrest, local — non local antagonism unfair tradeunionism, and labour practices and on top of everything, conflicts due to differences In political ideals. Excesses emanating from the eerie protection of the undue interest of so called non-em ployed labour leaders from outside Inconsequential exp endltures and their inevitable Im pact on the cost of production Unreasonable demands of the work force notwithstanding the already accumulated financial burden. Go slow' policy In normal working time and forced over /time work and bills; Unpaid bank loan and compound interests thereon: Freouent power failure; Natural calami ties, political unrest; High rate of labour reduction in harvesting seasons
Many more causes (not 'reasons for obvious reasons) may be there accounting for the present debacle If the production is consumer Items, the ordinary buyers are the eventual casualty On the other hand, the cost of pro duction being higher, tliose Io cally produced goods cannot compete with similar Im ported Items selling at lesser prices Thus there Is Invariably stockpiling. For example the cotton yarn and textile fabrics produced by local mills, particularly In the public sector get stockpiled because of higher prices compared to those Imported goods As a result they are smarting under dead weight of heavy bank loan with ever compounding Interests
Sickly IMainvartment
Now let us turn to the oft-quoted sick industries' and their proposed rehabilitation to be undertaken by the government. Even though the new Industrial Policy-1991 has out lined the identification programme for sick Industries, the result Is yet to be known, not to speak of the programme for or the ultimate alm of their rehabilitation This fluid post tlon poses a big question when considered with other Intrlgu Ing aspects of disinvestment announced by the government in the same breath
The 37 member Indus trial Development Council was reportedly sei up by the present government "with the objective of speedy Industrial growth ' Against such an express objec tive the observe tlon dished out by the HJCCI President Al haj Md Akram Hossain on the creation of as many as seven investment board wr have now seven ghosts In place of one" and the Instant support given by BNP MP Wing Commander llamldullah 'see are setting up only nets to stop advancement' suggest that the Issue at hand 1s apt to be more confusing
Proapecta of Recovery
Il Is true that dIsInvest ment. prlma facie, assures government of 20% down payment but the rest 80% contracted for repayment over a period of next 15-20 years seldom come off The new fords have by then eaten up everything around giving pleas like - continual labour
unrest (often their own creation.): loss of production due to power failure unstable sales due Io Imports etc.
Neo-Industrialist
Whereform shall he pay? He wonders but prefers silence Reminders start coming In succession in the form of telex telegraphic messages of threats. This spell continues for sometimes and thereafter to followed by legal notices He to still undaunted But makes up his mind to do something. In the course he gets the signal from one who matters Agents run the errands between the two A clandestine deal soon settles the issue temporarily He gets the breather
But the commotion he has already sparked off In the mills has brewed in intensity Sporadic clashes ensue on demands for reinstatement Violence mounts and the mill to eventually for ked out or laid off. Thia has been the most common feature observed In moat of the dtoinvested Industrial units Responsibility to In variably affixed on the poor workers for raising protest against their tread takers' Curiously enough, the neo-tn-dustrtaltot takes advantage of the situation and puts this as a pretext for his Inability to re pay government dues on time. And such a queer excuse finds easy favour with the bureau cratlc machinery The effect Is superficially magnified, the causes recede out of vision
In such a situation, one thing becomes crystal clear that It Is mismanagement, rather than mana^ment that sets everything upside down It to not that such a situation prevails only tn cases of dtoun vested mills, rather it applies to those entrepreneurs who run Into an almost Identical quagmire with their invest menu In Industrial undertake ftp, — Ag -
■ । cvrnuvT
Much of the wounds could perhaps be healed If the following steps could be taken I) an analytical study of the past industrial experience of the entrepreneurs willing to Invest In Industries:
11) determine compatibility of the the knowledge and experience of the sponsor (s) and/or the technocrats with the type of the proposed industry In which Investment shall be made: ill) obtain Indepth review and analytical examination of the feasibility study for the project by an expert not related to the project or the sponsors In any manner In order to make an independent scrutiny as to the accuracy of the statistical data and other Information In the study, fv) devise an effective mechanism to ascertain the adequacy of the sponsors cash resources Individually and jointly; v| objectively measure and to make and Independent assessment of the perso nal ItablbUes of the sponsors and also to clearly outline the inevitable Impact of such personal liabilities to likely to have on the Implementation of the project In time; vl) objective determination of the volume of Imports of the Items to be produced in the proposed Industry and link with the focal demand The total output of the' already existing similar Industries may also be considered as a determinant factor vtl) draw up an action based joint-management plan, for the period of imple mentation, which shall comprise sponsors and representatives from the fund giving financial Instl tuttons who should be at site full time Anarchic Freedom
It to been distressing to ob serve that no Importance Is given to the last Mem not Io
binding clause in the Impte mentation programme In Its place a representative of the lending bankina InsUtuUon on the board of directors is retained only Io function as a co signatory u, the cheques for disbursement of the loan Instalments The sponsors on the other hand ergey the abac lute controlling power from the beginning of the process of Implementation to the end Thus the element of check and balance remains a far cry glv Ing the sponsors absolute authority and freedom to go his own way of doing things Such freedom often eclipses the legal binding of sponsors to repay the loan There have been many instances when money drawn from the lending Bank on par Ocular Item of work as per-determined schedule are not utilised on that score, rather done on some other account not at all related Io the project itself
There to yet another side of the story There have been in stances where plans on project Implementation are not reality-based or not drawn on the basis of practicability Such a plan spread over a longer period and seldom takes Into cognizance the escalation of prices of construction materi ala due to time factor Such r situation Invariably necessi latex reappropriation In the budget That will eventually, lock the sponsors In another round of battle with the find Ing bank The above to the picture tn the field of Investment Unless this Is taken rare of. the bat of defaulters ahull conUnue to be extended Let also the man at the helm affairs find the almost invincible gap between what has been and what should have been The answer to the problem Is Just in front of them Io behold with open eyes and clear minds Only then they will be able to diagnose precisely the so called sickness* of the Industrial units and prescribe the right