Back to Clip Index

The proposed budget for the 2004-2005 fiscal year lacks instruments for effective revenue generation and proper implementation of the annual development programme (ADP), noted speakers told participants of a post-budget discussion on Tuesday.

   Terming Saifur Rahman’s revenue earning target “just daring”, former finance minister M Syeduzzaman said this increased target is highly ambitious though “no new measure has been taken for achieving it”.

   He added that the budget spoke of “no source of funding” for the private sector, excepting lowering of the lending rate,   a statement which was echoed by ex-commerce minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury.

   “I don’t see a clear roadmap, which is necessary to help the private sector to develop,” said Khosru, the business-man-turned-BNP-lawmaker from Chittagong, who played a key role in the automation of the Chittagong Stock Exchange.

   The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) organised the discussion on “State of the Bangladesh Economy and Budget Responses FY04” at the CIRDAP auditorium.

   In consonance with other speakers, World Bank country director Christine Wallich pointed out implementation failure as a major problem in achieving the development goals of the “budget for 140 million in Bangladesh”.

   Bangladesh Bank Governor Fakhruddin Ahmed said the current macro-economic situation is stable but admitted the weaknesses in budget implementation. “But is there any short-term solution to the problem?” he asked, emphasising the need for long-term steps to address the issue.

   In his presentation, CPD executive director Debapriya Bhattacharya expressed concern, among other issues, about growing income disparity, stalled privatisation of loss-making state-owned enterprises, tariff rationalisation and law and order that were not properly addressed in the budget.

   “The proposed system of tariff (at three slabs between 7.5 per cent and 25 per cent) will cause loss in revenue earning and it will further adversely affect the domestic industries,” said the economist, adding that the tariff issue could have been used as a bargaining point at international forums.

   Former commerce minister Khosru rebutted this criticism, saying that the country should expedite its international trade negotiations like those for free trade agreements instead of keeping the tariff issue as a bargaining point.

   Mirza Azizul Islam, chairman of share market watchdog Security and Exchange Commission, described the criticism of tariff reduction as “poor logic” while businessman MA Rouf Chowdhury expressed the apprehension that it would hit the local industries hard.