Good governance a must for proper budget allocation and spending: JP
Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader today said good governance must be ensured so that the money allocated to different sectors in the proposed budget is spent properly.
Quader, also the deputy leader of the opposition, GM Quader said this at a press conference at his Banani office following the placing of the Tk 568,000 crore national budget for 2020-21 fiscal, which set a target of 8.2 percent GDP growth amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
"It is necessary to ensure that the money is spent properly for the welfare of the people by preventing corruption and waste. Only then will the budget be welfare- oriented," he said.
The government has tried to announce a public welfare-oriented budget with adequate allocation being ensured in the required sectors, GM Quader said.
He, however, said that it might not be possible to meet the targets due to the global economic fallout from the pandemic.
Implementation of the budget will be a challenge this time, the JP chairman said.
Rashed Khan Menon, president of Workers Party, a top leader in the ruling Awami League-led 14-party alliance, said in his primary reaction that the finance minister's budget proposal is still growth based.
"It's not right to give priority to growth before people's lives," he said.
"The government should have thought how realistic it was to set an 8.2 percent GDP growth target at a time when the country is affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and [considering the current] global economic condition," Menon said at a press release.
Reforms to the banking sector and pension schemes for all, which was promised by the government previously, remained missing in the budget proposal, he said.
Menon also expressed surprise for not imposing tax on wealth and profit.
"How much more relief shall we provide to the rich section of people?" he inquired.
Gonoforum's General Secretary Reza Kibria in his reaction said the proposed budget presented today represents an unimaginative response to an economic crisis that calls for boldness and creativity.
It is an example of poorly-conceived budgeting based on delusional growth, revenue and financing projections, he also said.
Restoring confidence will be one of the most difficult challenges facing those managing the economy, Kibria said.
"The budgeted deficit of Tk 190 thousand crores [6 percent of GDP] is in itself not exceptionally high under the circumstances and in reference to comparable countries. If the money could be spent in a cost-effective manner with low levels of misappropriation and waste, then even a higher deficit level would have been acceptable," he said.
"The problem is that at least one-fifth (a conservative estimate) of budget outlays in Bangladesh are lost through corruption."
Kibria also said that improving financial governance and tackling corruption are given lip-service in the budget statement, but the people of Bangladesh wonder whether such statements can be taken seriously.
"What is clear is that the sacrifices and hardships imposed by the coronavirus are being shared very unequally. A sustained economic recovery can only take place once we have ensured the health and well-being of all, including the less-advantaged sections of our society," Reza Kibria added.
Communist Party of Bangladesh in its reaction said the proposed budget is, as usual, against the interest of 99 percent people of the country.
Bangladesh National Awami Party in its reaction said people will not get benefit of this budget if the government fails to prevent corruption.
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