To activate the economy, Bangladesh Bank, state-owned banks and financial institutions along with the port have been ordered to be fully operational by the advisor of the Ministry of Finance and Planning. Salehuddin Ahmed. At the same time, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has been asked to monitor revenue collection as per the target. It has also been directed to take necessary steps to speed up development activities and control inflation.
In a meeting on Saturday, the adviser of the Ministry of Finance and Planning gave these instructions to the Finance Department, Financial Institutions Department, Planning and Economic Relations Department Secretary and NBR Chairman.
Earlier, while entering his office in the secretariat, in response to the questions of the journalists, the advisor of the Ministry of Finance and Planning said that the banking sector will be reformed. However, let the activities of Bangladesh Bank be fully operational, then the topic of reform will come. If the renovations start now, the main activities will stop.
The adviser of the Ministry of Finance and Planning came to the office on weekends. At this time the finance secretary. Mohammad Khairuzzaman Majumdar welcomed him with flowers. After that, he held a 3-hour meeting with the secretaries of the concerned departments on the economic situation of the country. In that meeting, Secretary of Financial Institutions Department along with Finance Secretary. Abdur Rahman Khan, Senior Secretary of Planning Department, Satyajit Karmakar, Secretary of Economic Relations Department. Shahriar Quader Khan, NBR Chairman was present.
In the meeting, the secretaries of the concerned departments presented to the adviser the issues of short-term work to keep the economy running in the coming days. After the meeting asked Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed told reporters that all banks and capital markets including Bangladesh Bank will be operational and normal operations of institutions will be maintained to restore the momentum of the economy. Who is in these institutions or who has left is not our concern now. Those who are there will work according to the laws and regulations of the concerned institutions. Bank activities will continue to restore people’s trust. Port operations will continue to keep business running. Through these activities the economy will be kept running.
He also said that there will be no problem if you work normally. Legal action will be taken if anyone has done any extra past time. Regarding the discussion of the meeting, he said, urgent issues including law and order were discussed. There are some special things to be done in the long term.
It is heard that the chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) will resign – in this regard, the advisor of the Ministry of Finance and Planning said, no, it is not like that.
NBR has been asked to meet the target for revenue collection. He will supervise (Chairman) in this regard.
Anarchy has been created in Bankpara – When asked about the security of DG and MDs of the bank, he said, someone might be resigning. But those who are there will come to the office with their own security arrangements. No one was asked to come to the office risking their lives. Neither you nor I can take the risk of them not having the security of life.
In response to the question whether the absence of the police is an obstacle to the functioning of the economy, the financial adviser said, no, basically, many people have been relieved of their jobs and are absent. However, every incident will be investigated and action will be taken. The police have nothing to fear.
Earlier, the adviser of the Ministry of Finance and Planning spoke to the journalists while entering his office. At this time, he said, the country is facing a difficult situation. The main task at the moment is to restore law and order. Law and order means not only law and order on the streets, but the full opening of banks, the reopening of ports which are largely idle. Apart from this, the challenges in the macro economy, such as inflation, will be tackled immediately. The economy may slow down, but once it stops, it takes a long time to restart. The advantage is that the people of Bangladesh have endless work ethic. Most of the people except a few people will join the work.
Salehuddin Ahmed said, this government does not want to stay in power for a long time. We want to create a smooth path for the future government. That is why journalists need cooperation. We need active people. The work will be done only if we get the instructions, this should not happen.’ Addressing the journalists, he said that he will criticize if there is a mistake, but he urged him not to criticize unnecessarily.
In response to the question of how long it will take to bring the derailed economy back on track, Salehuddin Ahmed said, ‘I don’t think it will take much time to do the basic work. Economic activity was, not completely derailed. Rather lost speed. We will increase the speed.’
The big challenge now is inflation. When attention was drawn to the matter, he said, apart from macroeconomics, there was a mistake in the development strategy. People as a whole have not benefited from development. There has been growth, but who got the results, to whom the money went, that is the main issue. The government wants to ensure equitable and fair growth. Every effort will be made for the livelihood of all people. Many banks in the country have been scandalized during the tenure of the recently resigned governor. But if his resignation is accepted, will he be out of the ambit of accountability, the finance adviser said in response to questions from reporters, adding that the post of governor is sensitive. He has submitted his resignation letter, which will be decided in tomorrow’s meeting.
Salehuddin Ahmed also said that the law of Bangladesh Bank or any law of the country is of sufficient international standard. But it is not accepted. Those who were supposed to comply did not do that. Those who were supposed to obey, they didn’t obey either. Regarding money laundering, the adviser said, ‘We all know about this, we need information about it. There is a process, it must be done according to that.’