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The finance minister did not acknowledge the ongoing economic crisis, growing income inequality and dwindling foreign exchange reserves in the proposed budget speech and also sent the idea of good governance and fairness into exile, said the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).
The anti-corruption watchdog said that there is no doubt that the global crisis, caused by the Covid-19 crisis and the Ukraine war, has had a negative impact on the economy. But it is not clear how an ambitious budget without any direction will be meaningfully implemented to control rampant corruption and sky-high money laundering; though these are the main obstacles in the path to sustainable and inclusive development in the country, said a press release.
As the proposed budget lacks necessary measures needed to curb corruption and money laundering, the hope that this budget will play any role for the people of the country outside the circle of power is absolutely unrealistic, it added.
TIB came up with the observations in response to the proposed budget for fiscal year 2023-24 placed by Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal at the Jatiya Sangsad on Thursday.
In a statement published on Friday, the TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said, “In the budget speech, the finance minister has announced tightening of imports, continued monitoring of debt securities and withdrawing from multiple currency exchange rates to deal with the dollar crisis and rebuild foreign exchange reserves. But apart from the foreign exchange crisis, the underlying fatality of the overall economy of the country is corruption and continued money laundering which he had avoided.”
However, the government is well aware that if moderate level of corruption control was possible in Bangladesh, the growth of national income would be at least 2 to 3 per cent higher and would be meaningful for the people, he added.
“On the other hand, according to very reliable estimates, at least $12 billion is being smuggled out of Bangladesh annually. There is no doubt that a budget without direction to control the huge vicious circle of corruption and money laundering will facilitate more corruption and money laundering,” he said in the statement.
Lauding the idea of not extending the period of bringing back the laundered money without question, the TIB called for not continuing the opportunity to whiten black money by investing in plots and flats.
“Our past experience says that no government has been able to collect the desired level of revenue by allowing black money to be whitened in the country’s economy despite repeated opportunities. Rather, it only protected corrupt black money holders and actually contributed to the deepening of corruption,” the statement said.
The proposed budget has failed to justify the allocation and number of beneficiaries in social security programmes and cost management of subsidy allocation in view of the growing income disparity in the country mainly due to the discriminatory impact of corruption, it claimed.
“The coverage or number of beneficiaries of social security programs has not increased as much when the unemployed and low-income people are already under pressure. The amount of allowance is also proposed to be increased nominally in some cases but it will not be meaningful in any way,” it said.
Again, in the proposal of subsidy and incentive expenditure of TK 84,500 crores in the budget, Tk 60,000 crores has been kept for public administration. Subsidies and incentives in social security are only TK 5,000 crore.
