He said elimination of corruption and improvement in governance are absolutely necessary "as the world cannot help Bangladesh if it cannot get its own ports to work."

Dr Jeffrey Sachs, who is well known for his outspoken criticisms against the IMF's prescription for South East Asian crisis, also denounced the role generally played by donors in developing countries.

"Donors encourage locals to think small. Instead of focusing on small and medium enterprise (SME) growth in Bangladesh, donors should focus on large-scale investments in basic infrastructures instead, like power, clinics and roads," he said.

Sachs believes that since market forces respond to the imperatives of profit, donor assistance is needed to take care of the basic needs of the poor.

During an exclusive interview with The Daily Star, Sachs termed the PRSPs (Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers) 'inadequate' to meet the development needs.

"High in ambition and low in analysis, the PRSPs are weak in terms of assessing the needs of individual countries," he said during his last week's visit to Dhaka at the invitation of Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA).

"In Bangladesh, the PRSPs recommend a freeze on the size of government and the public sector. This is not at all appropriate for a country that needs significant investments in basic infrastructure, agribusiness, health, R&D, and productivity improvement."

Dr Sachs, who had been associated with Harvard for three decades, is currently director of The Earth Institute and Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development at Columbia University. He is

internationally renowned for his work as economic advisor to governments in Latin America, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Asia and Africa.

His work with international agencies on problems of poverty reduction, debt cancellation for the poorest countries, and disease control also earned acclamations globally.

In April 2004, Sachs was named as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. Furthermore, the World Affairs Council of America identified him as one of the 500 most influential people in the United States in the field of foreign policy.

During the interview, Dr Sachs shared his views on a range of current issues, including preparations for post-MFA (multi-fibre arrangement) era, law and order scenario and Bangladesh's dismal ranking in the Global Competitiveness Report 2003.

As Bangladesh now ranks 98 out of 102 in the Growth Competitiveness Index and 86 out of 95 in the Business Competitiveness Index, the economist stressed the importance of country's post-MFA performance.

"Does the government have a concrete plan to deal with post-MFA challenges? Why hasn't the government put together a council comprised of exporters, buyers, govt. officials and related stakeholders to discuss issues and devise solutions?"

Jointly with Michael Porter, Sachs had devised the Current Competitive Index and Growth Competitive Index in the annual Global Competitiveness Reports in 2000.

Particularly alarmed by the rising trend of violence, Dr Sachs commented, "Bangladesh does not want to be entrenched in violence like Colombia -- the cycle of violence is extremely difficult to get out of".

Sachs believes the events of Sept 11 diverted the attention of the developed world from fighting poverty. He contrasted the $200 billion spent in Iraq with the fact that the international community has not done anything despite knowing that one-thirds of the people in Bangladesh are drinking arsenic-contaminated water.

Sachs is optimistic in his outlook though. "Rich countries have already pledged to give 0.7 percent of their GDP in aid to developing countries. Bangladesh needs to make tough-minded realistic plans for scaling up and place stronger demands as to what the country really needs for arsenic, health care, electricity, etc.".

The promises have already been made by the developed world, Bangladesh should now raise its voice in getting these promises fulfilled, he suggested.