Corruption and graft in the system are so extensive that the law minister estimated that it was responsible for limiting the nation's GDP growth to 5 percent instead of the 7 percent growth which would be possible if corruption were reined in.

It should be borne in mind that this shocking figure comes not from the opposition, nor even one of the civil society organisations whose impartiality the government might question, nor even Transparency International, whose recent report on corruption in Bangladesh was contemptuously dismissed by the government but from the mouth of a cabinet minister. And, as such, it has the imprimatur of the government behind it.

One thing which we would like to point out is that the difference between 5 percent GDP growth and 7 percent GDP growth is not a de minimus difference of only 2 percentage points, as the more mathematically challenged might think, but actually represents a difference of 40 percent in the rate of growth. Corruption is responsible for the rate of economic growth being fully 40 percent lower than it should be. This as an astonishing number, and the one that we must focus on.

The second thing is that it is not enough to merely acknowledge the problem, though this is an encouraging first step. The blame for corruption lies squarely with the government in power. It cannot, by definition, reside anywhere else. So the question is, what is the government doing to combat this epidemic of corruption. The government has acknowledged the problem and so surely the next logical step would be to take legal and disciplinary action against those who are guilty of cheating the public exchequer and to institute measures to clamp down on corruption. But this is something we are still waiting to see.