Muhith unveils election-year budget, seeks another mandate for Awami League

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has sought another term for the ruling Awami League while presenting the proposed budget of the upcoming election year, titled “Bangladesh on a Pathway to Prosperity”.

“The continuation of this unstoppable journey and ensuring the overall self-determination of the people call for competent leadership and the continuity of development planning,” he said while unveiling a Tk 4.65 trillion outlay for fiscal 2018-19, biggest in the history of Bangladesh.

“I am confident, the people will stand by us by offering another mandate for implementing Vision 2041, as they did while taking forward the agenda of Vision 2021,” he said while presenting “a decade of unstoppable journey towards progress” before reading out the proposals for the 2o18-19.

The election is slated to be held by the year end.

In the past 10 years starting from 2009, he said Bangladesh remained steadfast in taking forward the “people-centric” agenda mainly for the benefit of the poor and the disadvantaged.

During this decade, he said Bangladesh has achieved the average GDP growth rate of 6.6 per cent while the developing economies’ average GDP growth was 5.1 per cent.

Public investment rose to 8.2 percent from 4.3 percent. Per capita income increased from $759 to $1,752. Inflation declined from 12.3 percent to 5.8 percent. The revenue-GDP ratio rose to 10.3 percent from a low of 9.2 percent.

The forex reserve increased from $7.5 billion to $32.2 billion while the rate of poverty declined to 24.3 percent from 31.5 percent and extreme poverty rate reduced to 12.9 percent from 17.6 percent.

“We are fortunate to have been blessed with such leadership. I am sure Jananetri Sheikh Hasina will continue to lend her leadership going forward,” said Muhith who presented a record number of budgets as the finance minister.

“We have got to go some extra miles for realisation of the dream of establishing a society free from poverty and inequality.”

“We will have to add momentum to the development activities and to the task of creating employment opportunities for the huge labour force.”

“We need to continue our endeavours for building growth-inducing infrastructures like communication-power-energy and creating investment-friendly environment. You are aware that this is a continuous and enduring long-term process,” he said while seeking another term for Awami League.

“I may not be able to contribute much to our Vision 2041, Bangladesh’s roadmap to prosperity, because of my age but I am highly satisfied and feel assured that the process has begun,” he said.