by KAYES AHMED
Mother Bangladesh is sitting on a gold mine. It’s the same gold mine that was used to develop the golden Jute industry of long ago. That same great natural resource has now been scientifically reimagined for the new noble purpose of serving a world desperate to solve the modern-day scourge of plastics pollution. Its chemical properties are uniquely suited as a problem-free plastic substitute. The promise of its former wealth and lore is poised to resurrect and launch a new golden era of prosperity, prestige, and respect for Bangladesh.
Except it isn’t…
The new Jute industry chapter begins with no one less august than the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, naming the magical bag made from Jute polymer, the “Sonali Bag”. Sonali, in Bengali, means golden and it seemed to be a truly golden opportunity that was about to take off. Mubarak Ahmad Khan declared the Jute biopolymer-based biodegradable bags viable and ready for commercial production back in 2015. He had been working on it for a number of years before 2015. So, in 2015 it seemed that the dream of a biodegradable bag that would help the global environment and revival of the Jute industry was finally in sight. Fast forward to 2020. The dreams remain just that, dreams. To be sure, there have been small-scale manufacturing of the Sonali bag at the Latif Bawani Jute Mills, sold with great fanfare at the Trade Fair in late 2019. But, in terms of sustainable production, there is kichu nai, bupkis, nothing, nada!! Why? Well, let me give you some perspective from the outside, but with a fair amount of knowledge about the inner workings of the business.
Bureaucracy and more bureaucracy: It seems that the Sonali bag has been inflicted with giant-sized, bureaucratic lunacy. First of all, there are too many cooks in the kitchen and most have no idea how to cook anything, let alone take this kind of innovation to the market. In the modern world, nimbleness is far more important than photo ops, directives and layers and layers of officialdom. But, somehow the poor little Sonali bag is orphaned with no project manager but many centers of apparent yet impotent decision-makers; no one is actually able to implement any decisions. On the one hand, there is the scientist, Dr. Mubarak Ahmad Khan, then there is Latif Bawani Jute Mills, then the Jute Ministry with a Minister, Secretary, and various other officials. Finally, there is, ahem, the Jute Diversification Promotion Center. All these people have spent years producing nothing fast. Yes, there are photo ops, glowing articles in various newspapers, even YouTube videos! But on the other hand, there is no corporate entity, nobody to contact, nothing for sale, no defined, standardized products, no price list, no availability, no supply chain creation and most importantly no engagement with any world regulatory or marketing agencies hungry, begging and desperate for such a monumental innovation.
Dhaka Courier for more