Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Thursday said that all concerned would have to rely on the data and statistics delivered by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) under the Ministry of Planning.
"All will have to believe whatever announcements come from the Ministry of Planning at different times, even the World Bank and the IMF also trust those," he said.
The Finance Minister said this while replying to a question after chairing two separate meetings on the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) here.
Kamal said that government could not rely on the data and statistics of other organizations except the state-run BBS.
Asked about think tank SANEM's latest observation on the high inflation trend, he said that it was beyond his knowledge from where they get such kind of data and statistics.
He said that the think tanks use the government data as per their requirements.
The Finance Minister said the government does not make any deviation from the existing rules and regulations while preparing vital statistics like the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
He said that the CPI index is usually prepared quarterly and half-yearly and the authorities concerned do not change either its methodology every week or include newer items every now and then in the basket.
"The items for measuring inflation remain as usual in the basket. If there is any need for including newer items, then it is included.....you got to be consistent. Whatever we're doing is right," he added.
The Finance Minister also said that there is no deviation in the operations of the government.
Replying to another question, he said that to overcome the growing pressure of subsidy in various sectors, the government would consider gaining funding from such source which would be both economical and effective.
Kamal said it always remain in the consideration of the government that the number of subsidies does not fall entirely on the consumers rather the government also bears the subsidy cost alongside the consumers on a sharing basis.
"If it is entirely burdened on the consumers, then they would not be able to bear the brunt of the subsidy," he said.
When asked about the government's move to import fertilizer from Russia, the Finance Minister said that Bangladesh has a very close relationship with Russia and it is also not new for Bangladesh to import fertilizer from that largest country in the world.
Considering the ongoing war situation between Russia and Ukraine, he said that if the import is not possible, then the government would have to find out alternate sources. "Until then, we'll have to stick to our earlier decision."
He said if the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, legally SWIFT SC, a Belgian cooperative society providing services related to the execution of financial transactions and payments between banks worldwide, discontinues in this regard, then the government would follow currency swap or any other measure.
"But, we hope that the war will come to an end and it will not prolong. We've also kept the alternate sources in our mind," he said, adding that it was his expectation that the war would not last long for the sake of humanity and mankind.
