The government is planning to launch a crackdown on the foreign nationals staying illegally in the country over the year. A report, quoting intelligence sources, said the number of such illegal foreigners is rising steadily. Most of them are working in the country's various business establishments for long.
According to the report published in a vernacular daily this week, such workers are allegedly remitting abroad illegally a good sum of money, involving transactions in foreign exchange through informal channel in the absence of proper monitoring by the authorities concerned. No effective measures have been taken so far against them excepting some occasional roundups.
The report said more than 2,00,000 foreigners were staying illegally in Bangladesh. A high-level committee was also formed earlier by the government to track down them. The committee's report did not see the light of the day as yet.
In fact, many local business houses have allegedly employed such foreign nationals for getting more profits and businesses. Usually they are hired by companies engaged in indenting, readymade garments (RMG), textile, information technology (IT) and energy sectors. Most of these undocumented workers are from Thailand, India, Sri Lanka and Korea. Many have feared that security risks might be involved surrounding the foreign nationals working clandestinely.
Bangladesh, itself being a country of a huge manpower resource, is having this sort of unusal immigrant problem for the last few years. Slowly but steadily, such foreigners are entering the country in the name of investors, experts and 'extra-ordinary' qualified professionals. In the name of investors, many foreigners have arrived and established their offices in the posh metropolitan areas and are resorting to many types of informal or clandestine businesses. Finding no jobs in their home country, many information technology (IT) specialists have come to Bangladesh and opened IT training centres throughout the country. They are minting money from the local citizens by offering cheap IT courses that are helping the locals to emerge as computer operators, not specialists.
A section of local businessmen, in league with some corrupt government officials, are apparently giving cover to such illegal immigrants. Knowingly or unknowingly, the government has so far failed to take any action against such illegal migrants. These foreigners are contributing nothing of substantive nature to the country's economy. Instead, they are sending out hefty amounts of money in valuable foreign exchange. The Bangladeshis abroad are themselves earnestly striving hard, doing tough jobs for remitting home their savings from earnings, after meeting their living expenses in the countries where they are employed as the expatriate workers.
For extended illegal stay of foreigners in Bangladesh, local business houses assign special officers to 'manage' getting legal or forged work permits from the authorities concerned. In the same way, their visas are extended in connivance with a section of passport and immigration officials, 'graft' being one major way for managing such things. Even at the expiry of one's contract, he finds no trouble in leaving the country with their income earnings here.
The owners of some cent per cent export-oriented garments industries are reported to be hiring expatriates to get more work orders for their own businesses. It is important to examine closely and clearly whether such expatriates are serving the interests of such Bangladesh-based industries or promoting, by proxy, the course of businesses of their countries of origin, neglecting those of their employers who are based here.
What is baffling for the government is that such foreigners are having a gradual grip on the country's promising sectors like information technology (IT), telecommunications, energy, mining, exploration of oil wells etc. Some of them are involved in country's financial sector as well. This trend gives a disconcerting signal for the country.
There is no denying that some genuine investors are sometimes harassed on arrival at the country's entry points or red-tape hinders their moves to set up industrial units in Bangladesh. But there are also serious allegations -- and not necessarily all without some valid reasons -- about some fake investors arriving in the country and making quick money through their clandestine or unauthorised business transactions. The presence of such illegal foreign nationals is reportedly boosting inter-country gold and narcotic smuggling and currency racketeering syndicates -- using Bangladesh as a corridor and transit route. They are also allegedly involved in human trafficking and illegal manpower export businesses.
On its part, Bangladesh has also lost some of its native talents -- nuclear scientists, physicians, IT specialists, meritorious teachers and students, engineers, geologists, pharmacists etc., as they have left the country over the years in search of fortunes in the rich industrialised nations. Bangladesh could not afford to offer attractive compensation packages to retain them within the country or establish quality centres of excellence in the domain of post-graduation studies to its promising young talents for which they have to seek admission to universities at abroad in order to pursue higher studies. Now such a good number of Bangladeshi expatriates are in better positions and many of them are heading some leading sectoral entities of the business enterprises or government agencies in those countries at abroad. There have been no serious efforts to persuade them to return to their own homeland. Unfortunately, the void created by the brain drain is now being filled up by a group of foreign nationals, though not necessarily all being highly skilled or talented in their respective 'professional' fields. This is, of course, not a healthy sign for the country.
The government needs to take necessary steps for safeguarding the country's interests and putting an effective brake on illegal transfer of funds to abroad. National interest has to be protected, first of all. Taxes and duties must be collected properly from all foreign nationals, earning their incomes have not been legal. Repatriation of indenting commission needs to be ensured through official channels to stop money laundering and to enforce the accountability of all those involved in business-related activities by disallowing illegal stay of the foreigners and their unlawful businesses.
There is no time to waste for taking the right decision in right time. Indeed, the sooner such effective measures are taken against such illegal foreigners, the better will be its outcome for the future of the country.
Referrer: Shahiduzzaman Khan
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