Eminent economist Debapriya Bhattacharyahas pointed out that the pressure of foreign debt repayment will increase in the coming years and the government should plan properly in case it wants to reschedule such loans.
There will be a major shock in 2026 while paying off the debt of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. The government is working to reschedule such loans. Also, discussionswith partner countries on bilateral loans should start soon, said Debapriya,a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).
He made the remarks while addressing the “Moazzem Hossain Commemorative Lecture on Macroeconomic Challenges and Way Forward” at the Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) auditorium in Dhaka on Tuesday.ERF organised the lecture in honourof its founding president and late editor of the Financial Express Moazzem Hossain.
According to the Bangladesh Bank (BB)data, at the end of December last year, the amount of foreign loans exceeded $100 billion and the amount in the private sector was around $21 billion.
Debapriya,also the convener of Citizen's Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh,said transparentevaluations should take place to decidewhat kind of steps can be taken in the payment of the loan from a country or development partner.
He said that although the economy is under pressure, it is good news that a lot of crops have been produced in Bangladesh this year.
The government now needs to increase the stock of food grains and extend the open market sale to the districts and upazila level. Besides, publishing the list of family cardholders on the website to ensure transparency, he added.
Debapriya believed that the government's incentives to increase remittances to overcome the USD crisis could not stop the hundi,an illegal method of transboundary transaction.
He said that remittance inflow cannot be increased with incentives.The exchange rate should be made flexible, along with the interest rate, he suggested.
Regarding BB’s ban on journalists’ access to its offices, Debapriya said that data anarchy in the country has now turned into a data breach.Thisban by BB is proof of that situation, as the powerful corrupt groups/syndicates fear to face the truth.
He also said, “We depended on central bank data on financial indicators including export-import even before BBS data. Now why has the information fallen in a barrier banning journalists in the BB?Is it the result of a compromise with a group of influential?It will damage the central bank’sreputation.”
