Finance minister raises questions over CPD's funding sources

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has raised questions about the funding sources of the Centre for Policy Dialogue after the private institution cast doubt over the economic growth figures released by the government.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 4 Nov 2019, 08:25 PM
Updated : 4 Nov 2019, 08:25 PM

Speaking to the media at the Secretariat on Monday, Kamal urged CPD to work 'for' the people instead of 'standing against' the country.

His comments came after CPD on Sunday questioned the country's 8 percent GDP growth, comparing the figure to 'a kite without a string'.

"How much taxes are they paying and from where are they getting the money? The government has plenty of revenue sources. But how are they generating revenue?" the minister asked.

"I'm putting this question to them through you (media): Where are their revenues coming from? And what are they doing with it? They must be working for someone in the country to be making money. So I need to find that out."

Kamal believes CPD's activities go against the interests of the country.

"I don't understand why they can't talk about the positives. Even if they don't do that, why would they want to harm the country? Our competitors will jump on any negative news and use it against us."

Responding to CPD's claims, the finance minister pointed out that since 2001, 60 percent of the population has been lifted out of poverty in Bangladesh through robust economic growth.

"This is the result of sustainable economic growth. There isn't any other magic formula. So how can you deny it?"

Kamal claimed that there were errors in the CPD's estimations and said, "We released the GDP figure for the last financial year. If there were any deficiencies in this year's figures then that's down to their miscalculations."