DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT

Eminent economist Prof Rehman Sobhan has called for holding the government accountable for implementing reforms that largely remain on paper in Bangladesh.

“Legislation is not enough; reforms must be translated into operational documents implemented by the bureaucracy, and their outcomes must be measured on the ground. An active opposition should collaborate with civil society to act as a watchdog over reform implementation,” he said.

Prof Sobhan, chairman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), spoke as a special guest at a session titled “Romancing the Reform: The Bangladesh Story” during the three-day 9th SANEM Annual Economists’ Conference 2026 at the BRAC Centre in Dhaka yesterday.

His remarks came as many reforms proposed during the interim government following the July 2024 uprising are fading, while laws traditionally remain on paper.

Drawing on his experience as a member of the Planning Commission, he said reforms in Bangladesh largely remain academic but must be delivered on the ground.

He recalled that in the early 1990s, judicial and budgetary reforms were initiated with support from the World Bank and the UK government, yet no one assessed the outcomes of those efforts.

By contrast, Southeast Asian countries have practised performance budgeting since the 1970s and 80s to measure public expenditure outcomes, something Bangladesh has yet to adopt in the 21st century.

SEE PAGE 2 COL 4