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The prime minister had made promises before the election, and we want to reflect that in the budget, Mahmood Ali says
Published : 26 May 2024, 08:04 PM
Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali wants to catch those who have defaulted on loans from banks. But he does not want to make any premature announcements about whether this will be possible.
The finance minister is preparing his first budget for the fiscal year 2024-2025 with the goal of getting the economy back on track.
He openly admitted that there are many obstacles and challenges at every stage of implementing this budget plan.
Asked if he sees any challenges in presenting his first budget, he said, "There are indeed challenges. There are issues like inflation, reserves, revenue collection, and the value of the dollar. However, the challenge with the dollar's value is not the same as before. The dollar is now open.
“Now we have to catch the loan defaulters. I certainly want to. Let's see if we can.”
After a meeting with Krishnamurthy Venkata Subramanian, the Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), at his office in the Secretariat on Sunday, he spoke to journalists.
Mahmood Ali took over as foreign minister towards the end of the ninth parliament and held the role throughout the 10th parliament. After the 11th parliamentary election, he was not included in the cabinet.
His assignment as the finance minister in the new cabinet after the 12th parliamentary election on Jan 7 came as a surprise.
He will propose the first outlay of the new government on June 6, six months after taking office.
According to media reports, he is planning to allocate about 4 percent more spending in the current budget.
When asked about his first budget, the minister said: "That’s what we are trying to do. What to do now, how to do it, I can’t tell everything right now. Efforts will be made to control inflation.”
In response to what will be prioritised, he said, "The goal is to get the economy back on track and ensure that prices remain within people's purchasing power, keeping the quality of life within limits.
“There will be a reflection of the people's hopes and aspirations in the budget. We want to include a reflection of the promises made by the prime minister before the election.”
Asked what will be included in the budget for the welfare of the people, he responded, “Social security programmes will be expanded.”
Acknowledging the current economic difficulties, Mahmood Ali said, “We have to overcome these difficulties. I hope that gradually the obstacles will no longer exist. We want to gradually move towards realising the promises made in the election manifesto. But there are many obstacles, and we are working on overcoming them.”
During his conversation with the IMF representative, the minister said, “I asked how you view our actions, and he said 'yes, I am happy, satisfied.’
“He said that the government's actions and reforms in Bangladesh are on the right track to solving the reserve issues.”
The minister assured that the next installment from the IMF would be provided in June.
“We are trying to increase the flow of dollars. There’s a lot of work behind this, negotiations are involved. We hope to overcome this problem as well, the foreign exchange issue.”
When asked if the budget will be contractionary, he said, “Contraction has already happened. Now we will move away from contraction and see how we can expand, which we will try in the upcoming budget.”
Every budget of the Awami League since 2009 has increased by 17 percent or more compared with the previous one.
When asked why he is calling this year's plan expansionary after planning a 4.5 percent increase, he said, “You’ll see why when the budget is announced.”
Regarding revenue collection, the finance minister said, “We are trying, we’ll see. Attention must be paid to these matters.
“Those who won’t pay taxes, how we can recover taxes from them will need to be strategised. Many cases involving VAT, tax, and other revenue sectors are stuck in court.”
About the return of funds from abroad after the election, he was asked if there would be any steps taken to bring back the money.
He responded, “Offshore banking will be introduced with an interest rate of 8.4 percent. Additionally, other measures will be taken.”
When asked if there would be opportunities to legalise undeclared money, he said, “I can’t say that now, let’s see.”
On the issue of actions against former army chief Gen Aziz Ahmad and former police chief Benazir Ahmed, reflecting the government and his own stance against irregularities and corruption, Mahmood Ali said, “All properties of the former IGP have been attached. The army chief has also been caught. Even if the US has sanctioned, the matter has become public. The government is doing something, and the army will handle it.”
When asked if there is government support for catching these people, the minister said, “Does this happen without government support? He (Aziz) may no longer be in the army, but the army can still act.”
