A leader Bangladesh cannot afford to ignore.

By Sunahwar Ali::  

I salute his efforts.

It is through such dedicated, honest, and visionary leadership that we will win our fight against injustice, corruption, and inequality.

The Kind of Leadership Bangladesh Needs
When I reflect on my years of campaigning—from the streets of Tower Hamlets to the villages of Sylhet and the corridors of Dhaka—I am reminded that a nation’s progress is not measured solely by its GDP, but by the integrity of its leaders and the well-being of its people. This is precisely why individuals like Green Chasee Md. Kamruzzaman Mridha represent the kind of asset that the Bangladesh government and our nation desperately need.
We have seen too many instances where public office is treated as an opportunity for personal enrichment, where development projects are swallowed by corruption, and where the voices of the poor and marginalised are ignored. Against this backdrop, a man who has built a successful international business empire from the ground up—rooted in organic agriculture, social enterprise, and ethical trade—offers something invaluable: a proven model of how to do things right.

A Blueprint for Sustainable Governance
Green Chasee’s work provides a practical blueprint that our government could harness for national development. Consider the following:

·Agricultural Revolution:
His expertise in organic farming, balanced fertiliser use, and sustainable agricultural practices is exactly what Bangladesh needs to ensure food security while protecting our land from the long-term damage of chemical dependency.
If the Ministry of Agriculture were to integrate leaders like him into policy formulation,we could see a transformation in the lives of millions of farmers who currently struggle with debt and depleted soil.
· Entrepreneurship and Job Creation: Through his various initiatives—from IT and freelancing development to SME mentorship—Green Chasee has demonstrated a hands-on approach to creating employment. Our nation faces a youth bulge; we have millions of young people eager to work but lacking opportunity.
By partnering with individuals who have already built successful training and incubation models, the government could scale these efforts to every upazila, turning job seekers into job creators.
·Climate Leadership: Bangladesh is on the front lines of climate change. Green Chasee’s active engagement in global climate forums and his advocacy for renewable energy, carbon offset initiatives, and eco-friendly business practices position him as a natural advisor for our Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. We need people who can speak the global language of climate policy while delivering practical, on-the-ground solutions for our vulnerable coastal and riverine communities.
·Social Business and Poverty Alleviation:
His leadership of the Green Bangla Foundation and various social businesses demonstrates a model of development that does not rely on foreign aid or corrupt contractors.
It is a model built on empowerment—providing women with entrepreneurial skills, communities with disaster resilience, and students with quality education.
This is the very essence of sustainable development that any government should seek to replicate.

Bridging the Diaspora and the Homeland
As a British-Bangladeshi who has lived between London, Sylhet, and Dhaka,
I understand the immense potential of our diaspora.
Green Chasee is a perfect example of someone who has successfully bridged that gap. With his business base in Washington DC and his heart in Faridpur, he understands both the global economy and the local reality. He can attract foreign investment, facilitate technology transfer, and build international partnerships—all while ensuring that the benefits flow back to the people of Bangladesh.

The government should be actively seeking out such individuals—not just for ceremonial roles, but for substantive positions where they can influence policy, lead state-owned enterprises, or drive public-private partnerships. When you place people of proven integrity and capability into the machinery of government, you begin to dismantle the culture of corruption and inefficiency that has held us back for too long.

Unlocking Resources: Climate Finance, Agricultural Funds, and Public-Private Partnership
One of the greatest obstacles to national development has always been funding. But the resources are out there—if we have the vision and the integrity to access them. Bangladesh is among the most climate-vulnerable nations on earth, and the international community has acknowledged this through various United Nations climate change programs, including the Green Climate Fund, the Adaptation Fund, and various carbon offset initiatives.
Beyond climate finance, there are other significant sources of development funding waiting to be tapped. The Dutch Embassy, for instance, administers substantial agricultural funds aimed at supporting sustainable farming, food security, and rural development in countries like Bangladesh.
The Netherlands is a world leader in agriculture and water management, and their development programs are specifically designed to partner with nations that are serious about agricultural transformation.

Mr. Kamruzzaman Mridha is already engaged with global partners in this space.
His associations with PEAR Carbon Offset Initiative Ltd. & Climate Experts Ltd. (Japan), Redd Vault (USA), and his active participation in international climate forums demonstrate that he understands the landscape of climate finance and international development funding.
He knows how to navigate these systems. He knows how to build the kind of projects that attract international funding—whether from the United Nations, bilateral partners like the Dutch government, or private sector investors.

Imagine, Prime Minister,
if we were to establish a dedicated national task force—led by someone with Mr. Mridha’s expertise and networks—to tap into these global funds.
We are talking about billions of dollars earmarked precisely for the kind of work we need to do: sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, climate-resilient infrastructure, and green job creation. When combined with private sector investment and government support through public-private partnerships, we would have more than enough resources to fund a national transformation.

This is not about waiting for foreign aid.
This is about claiming what is rightfully available to us—funds designed for climate-vulnerable nations and agricultural development—and deploying them with efficiency, transparency, and purpose.
Mr. Mridha has the experience to ensure that such funds are used not for corruption but for genuine development that reaches the poorest and most vulnerable.

My Call to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman:
Engage Our Youth, Build Our Villages
Now, I wish to address a matter that weighs heavily on my heart. I have watched with growing concern as thousands upon thousands of young Bangladeshis—bright, ambitious university graduates—leave our shores every year in search of work. Many more remain at home, degrees in hand but without purpose, without income, without hope.
They are not lazy. They are not lacking in talent. What they lack is opportunity and direction.

At the same time, our villages—the backbone of our nation—continue to suffer from neglect. Infrastructure crumbles, opportunities remain scarce, and our rural youth are forced to abandon their ancestral homes for the crowded slums of Dhaka or the uncertain roads to foreign lands.
This is where leadership matters.
This is where vision matters.

I call upon our Prime Minister, Tarique Rahman, to recognise that the future of Bangladesh lies not in sending our children abroad, but in empowering them at home. We have in Mr. Kamruzzaman Mridha a man who has already demonstrated how to do this. His Green Chasee School Project, his agricultural training programmes, his women’s entrepreneurship initiatives—these are not theories. They are working models.
They have already transformed lives in Faridpur and beyond.

Imagine, Prime Minister, if we were to take his expertise and his experience and scale it across every district of Bangladesh. Imagine engaging the millions of unemployed university graduates—engineers, agriculturists, IT specialists, business graduates—and placing them under the mentorship of a man who has built successful enterprises in organic farming, agro-business, export-import, and social enterprise. Imagine turning our villages into hubs of productivity, where young people can earn with dignity and contribute to nation-building without ever leaving their homeland.

These young people can build our nation.
They do not need to beg for jobs overseas. They need guidance, they need investment, and they need leadership that believes in them. Mr. Kamruzzaman Mridha has proven that he can provide that guidance.
What he needs now is the partnership of a government that is serious about national development.

A Call to Action
My life’s work has been to fight against racism, injustice, and corruption.
I have seen how the absence of good leadership can devastate communities. Conversely,
I have seen how one dedicated individual can inspire change.

Green Chasee Md. Kamruzzaman Mridha is not a politician.
He is a businessman, a researcher, a social worker, and an educator. But perhaps that is precisely what our government needs more of—leaders who come from the real world of hard work and accountability, not from the backrooms of political patronage.

I call upon the Prime Minister’s Office, the relevant ministries, and the private sector to recognise the potential of such individuals.
Bring them into the fold.
Consult them on agricultural policy, climate strategy, and youth development.

Furthermore,
I propose the creation of a dedicated Employment and Youth Development Ministry, operating directly under the Prime Minister’s Office. This is not a matter that can be left to bureaucratic inertia.
The scale of our youth unemployment crisis demands focused, high-level attention with the authority to cut through red tape and coordinate across multiple ministries. Such a ministry would have a single, clear mandate:
to implement a national youth entrepreneurship and employment programme, engaging our unemployed university graduates and pairing them with experienced mentors like Mr. Kamruzzaman Mridha.

This ministry would be responsible for:
·Identifying and recruiting unemployed graduates from every district and upazila, matching their qualifications with national development needs.
·Establishing training and incubation hubs in every rural community, based on the successful models already pioneered by Mr. Mridha.
·Connecting young people with technical colleges and vocational institutions to ensure they acquire the practical skills needed for modern agriculture, IT, and green industries.
·Managing the flow of funds from United Nations climate programs, the Dutch Embassy’s agricultural funds, and private sector partners, ensuring transparency and accountability.
·Creating a national mentorship network where experienced entrepreneurs and industry leaders guide the next generation of job creators.

When you place this ministry under the direct authority of the Prime Minister’s Office, you send a clear message that youth empowerment and rural development are not afterthoughts—they are the central pillars of your vision for a new Bangladesh.

Let us also establish a dedicated Climate Action and Green Development Fund, built on three pillars: United Nations climate change programs, private sector investment, and government partnership.
Let us actively pursue partnerships with bilateral donors like the Dutch Embassy, whose agricultural funds are specifically designed to support the kind of sustainable farming and rural development that Mr. Mridha has already pioneered.

Let us place experienced, honest individuals like Mr. Kamruzzaman Mridha at the helm of such initiatives—not as figureheads, but as leaders with real authority to design and implement projects that will transform our rural economy, create jobs for our youth, and build resilience against the climate crisis.

When you empower people of integrity and vision, you empower the entire nation. When you give our youth purpose and opportunity, you build a nation that no longer needs to export its brightest minds. You build a nation that stands on its own feet.

Bangladesh stands at a crossroads.
We have the resources, the workforce, and the resilience to become a true global leader. What we need now is to place the right people in positions where they can contribute. Green Chasee is one of those people.
His journey from a village in Faridpur to the global stage is a story of what is possible.
It is time our government and our nation fully embraced such contributions for the collective good.

Sunahwar Ali is a former Chief Whip of Tower Hamlets Council and a long-time campaigner for anti-racism, social justice, and good governance in the UK and Bangladesh.