Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has asked the government to revise the proposed budget with an emphasis on recovery from coronavirus crisis rather than growth by focusing on health and education sectors.
This was proposed by CPD fellow professor Mustafizur Rahman while presenting the main article in a virtual dialogue titled 'CPD's Budget Dialogue 2020' on Saturday (June 20).
CPD chairman prof Rehman Sobhan presided over the virtual dialogue conducted by CPD executive director Dr Fahmida Khatun.
Mustafizur Rahman said that the coronavirus crisis is still wreaking havoc in the country’s economy, yet the proposed budget was not prepared with enough focus on dealing with the fallout caused by the pandemic. The allocation for health and education sectors should be increased greatly.
The revised budget should prioritize the first 6-7 months of the new financial year. Health insurance and food security projects in the current budget need to be implemented quickly so that the people can recover from economic hardships caused by the pandemic.
He added that the proposed budget targets to refinance the deficit by borrowing Tk 87,000 crore from the banks, which will create difficulties for private investors to borrow money from the banks. Moreover, the projected foreign aid at $11 billion this fiscal is not realistic since the maximum ever received is $8 billion.
Regarding whitening black money, Mustafizur said that the opportunity to invest undisclosed money without question at 10 percent interest rate, is not morally, economically and politically desirable. This scheme has been tested before without bringing any benefit to the country’s economy.
In the main article, he further said that ADP (Annual Development Programme) projects need to be implemented and the tariffs on mobile call rates need to be reduced. He also proposed a reduction in turnover tax for small and medium enterprises.
The executive director of the Policy Research Institute Ahsan Habib Mansur spoke in the same tone and said this budget should have been split in two – for 6 months each. The first 6 month’s budget should’ve been prepared with a focus on coping with coronavirus crisis, while the next 6 month’s budget with a focus on the post-coronavirus situation.
However, Ahsan lauded the initiative to raise the tax-free income, but said, like always, the overarching theme of the budget is to benefit the rich. This year’s budget needed to be different with the focus on tackling the crisis caused by coronavirus pandemic.
Ahsan H. Mansur further said that the pandemic may linger until December – there should have been an allocation in the budget to provide the jobless with a special fund of Tk 3-5 thousand for their survival.
Moreover, this proposed budget should have had a higher allocation for the victims of coronavirus and their families. A reform in the health sector is now a necessity that should’ve been reflected in the budget.
Planning Minister M A Mannan, former Commerce Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud, former Governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr Saleh Uddin Ahmed, President of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MCCI) Barrister Nihad Kabir also participated in the virtual discussion.
