Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1503179
8 OPINION 6.7.2023 Bangladesh - reflections on Malta as an immigration country George Mangion George Mangion is a senior partner at PKF, an audit and consultancy firm, and has over 25 years' experience in accounting, taxation, financial and consultancy services. His efforts have made PKF instrumental in establishing many companies in Malta and established PKF as a leading professional financial service provider on the Island H istory shows us how Bangladesh in 1971, aer it declared itself an in- dependent country, became poor- er still, as the rump of Pakistan fought a savage war to retain it, destroying a big share of its few assets and killing many of its best and brightest. It is no surprise that corruption is rife with government con- tracts oen going to the party's cronies. e country's financial system is littered with problems of State-owned banks weighed down by loans that well-con- nected borrowers decline to repay. Jus- tice is delayed or denied and there is no point going to court: the party with the closer ties to the Awami League always wins. e tax code, which relies more on levies on consumption than on income or wealth, is also drafted in favour of the rich and politically connected. Like Malta during the seventies, textile factories working on CMT are now the primary jobs for unskilled female work- ers. Unlike Malta, which due to increases in labour cost and rapid diversification of economy, had to close down all textile fac- tories yet in the case of Bangladesh (partly due to cheap labour) it became the sec- ond largest textile exporter in the world. An estimated 4.4 million workers are em- ployed in the garments industry, with the majority being women. e sector con- tributes 11% of Bangladesh's GDP. What is the point of comparing cur- rent iniquities which surfaced in Malta (such as the fraudulent privatization of three public hospitals and scandalous Electrogas as a major power provider) to the corrupt situation in Bangladesh. In our case, the middle class has flour- ished amid stories of political cronies who enjoy privileges on board the gravy train and sail on luxury yachts, while the poor and low-income cohort continue to slide closer to the poverty line. e illu- sion of affluence code named "L-Aqwa Zmien" has morphed into thin air and is now kept alive by recruiting more south Asian workers on precarious jobs. Back to Bangladesh and abuses of its political system are beginning to be re- flected in the economic data. Between 2010 and 2016 the richest households saw their income rise by nearly a quarter, while the poorest households saw theirs decline by a third. Zahid Hussain, a for- mer lead economist on Bangladesh for the World Bank blames this factor on the rent-seeking behaviour of the elite. e World Bank estimates that corruption and sleaze knock two percentage points off gdp growth each year. On a positive note, one appreciates that reforms have started by the prime min- ister and her Awami League party. It is fair to observe that these have overseen impressive growth and social reforms in a notoriously corrupt country. Due to such reforms, one can admit that Bang- ladesh now outpaces Pakistan across all standard economic indicators, includ- ing nominal gross domestic product, GDP per capita, GDP's growth rate and foreign reserves. Since separation from Pakistan, it started from a poor posi- tion, yet reforms have seen Bangladesh's economy relatively fast improvement. Women from all corners of the country have come out of their traditional work roles to join the garment and other for- mal sectors of the Bangladesh economy. is massive female exodus has be- come the cornerstone of the country's economy. ey are also, unfortunate- ly, part of the "cheap" labour force and are easy targets for exploitation by the entrepreneurs who hope to make high profit margins from exports of finished garments. Observers reflect on the vast feminisation of the economy which has contributed significantly to GDP growth, yet unfortunately, it has not helped the vast majority of women to uplift their positions in society vis-à-vis the state. For instance, MaltaToday reports how a Bangladesh journalist explained that in 2018, he made the bold choice to re- port against the corruption and fraud committed by the Bangladesh Awami League (AL). is provoked the AL into attacking him while he was taking pic- tures. After their election victory, the AL vandalized his house and supporters of the AL threatened to kill him. No action was taken by the local authorities in fear of the ruling party. In these circumstances, the applicant had no other choice than to leave the country in 2019. Why is immigration a vital social valve for low-income workers of Bangladesh? What are the problems for millions of migrant workers who need to sever their roots in this Islamic country and travel thousand of miles to seek better living conditions. Problems faced by Bangladeshi mi- grants include: high fees for migration charged by recruitment agencies, es- pecially for low skilled jobs; low wages, lack of information on migration oppor- tunities and risks; discrimination, ex- ploitation and abuse while overseas; and insufficient services to protect the rights of workers. Naturally, millions of Bangladeshi ex- patriates, particularly those registered as migrant workers, have been playing a crucial role in the development of Bang- ladesh by sending their earned money back home. Not only is this money sup- porting hundreds of thousands of fami- lies in Bangladesh but also contributing to the country's economic development. Readers may question how relevant are the economic and social problems of workers from South Asia countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh, Malays, Pakistan and India? ese countries are the top choice for Malta's policy concerning re- cruitment of TCN's. e recent invasion by TCN's of Identi- ty Malta has helped fill the acute scarcity of low-income workers needed to drive our buses, work on construction sites, clean streets, help in kitchen tasks, food service in hotels and restaurants, dan- gerously drive scooters to deliver fast food, man AirMalta airport reservation desks and many others. As reported in the Times of Malta, Indian nationals often pay thousands of euros in agency fees to work in Mal- ta only to find that the job promised to them does not exist. is was recently revealed by an NGO for Indians in Mal- ta. As a temporary solution to stay in the country legally, they have to pay income tax through the agency despite earning no income. e manpower agencies then provide payslips to the Maltese govern- ment to "prove" these people are "work- ing" in Malta. "It's kind of a mafia" said Sanjolucy Leela, president of the Malta Malayalee Association. To put migration into perspective mi- grants wanting to work in Malta directly without an agent costs less than €1,000. ose wanting to seek an official entry for a secure job use an agency. is will cost them four times higher at €4,000 and in certain cases €10,000. Conclusion: having left the frying pan in their home town they arrive in Malta to face the fire.