State Minister for Planning Shamsul Alam has said the government is worried about the ongoing high inflation in the country, but policymakers are trying their best to contain it aiming to reduce the inflationary pressure on the common people.
He made the remark while speaking at a workshop titled “Exploring Export Diversification Opportunities in the European Union” jointly organised by Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) and Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID) at ERF auditorium in Dhaka on Sunday.
In August, the country saw a 12.5 per cent food inflation which was highest in the last decade and the general inflation rate was 9.92 per cent. The overall inflation was 9.94 per cent in May which was the highest after FY2011.
The state minister said inflation is the main concern for the government. In a bid to reduce the inflationary pressure, the government cut its expenditure, but it can’t control it because high import cost is one of the key factors apart from the domestic high tariff rate.
The government will take initiatives to ensure the smooth supply chain, he said, expressing the hope that upcoming Boro harvest will help contain inflation soon.
Referring to the sentence of human rights organisation Odhikar’s secretary Adilur Rahman Khan, the state minister said that the European Union issued a statement on this matter, but the information provided by Odhikar in its report on the number of deaths of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh’s activists was not correct.
“It is a serious crime. Adilur was sentenced in the conventional trial for giving wrong information. Correct information should be given.”
The nation is being misled with the wrong data, he said, adding that he himself has become a victim of social media bullying.
