Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s Secretary General and former lawmaker Professor Mia Golam Porwar has issued the following statement on 30 June 2020 saying that the financial budget of the 2020-21 fiscal year would not be able to meet public expectations.

Finance Minister A H M Mostafa Kamal placed the budget of 5 lac 68 thousand and 190 crore taka in the parliament on last 11 June. It has designed completely relying on loans. Regarding the budget, on behalf of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, we have presented some proposals.

Other political parties and economists also placed some recommendations. But paying no heed to those suggestions and recommendations, the government passed the budget in the parliament today as per their whims. This budget will not fulfil people’s expectations.

Prime Minister are always talking about showing zero tolerance against corruptions. But we are observing that like the previous years, this budget also has the provision of legalizing the black money. Such double standard of the policy makers would increase corruptions and irregularities. Besides, in the process of implementing the budget, the government would be more dependent on banks and consequently it would push the banking sectors towards more crisis.

Significant number of people are being infected and died of coronavirus every day. Whereas, corruption has been increased centering the existing fragile medical care system. A hospital reportedly made a bill of 20 crore taka just because of their tiffin and other transportation cost.

Corruption must be wiped out by ensuring transparency at all levels in order to reshuffle the entire Medicare system. But this budget failed to make any directives in this regard.

Verbally this government is putting emphasis on poverty alleviation, creating employment and social safety net. But this budget did not have any outline about these issues. The main barrier behind the failure of ensuring food for the marginal people is corruption and embezzlement.

Already, scores of public representatives have been expelled because of such corruption. But the budget as a whole failed to make any recommendations for providing food services to all.

Agriculture is the key force of the Bangladeshi economy. But the budget of the upcoming fiscal year did not say anything about reducing the price of agricultural products and commodities.

The prices of the chemical fertilizers are remaining the same as the previous years. There is no guarantee for the farmers to receive due price of their produced crops as well.

Some 25 million people are involved with SME industry in Bangladesh. Already our industrial sectors are struggling to survive due to adverse impact of coronavirus. But instead of repairing the industry, the government is mulling to dismiss the laborers. In particular, by taking decision to shut down all the state-owned jute mills and factories, the government is creating a new financial crisis. The budget also failed to give any directives for those expatriates who had been forced to come back to the country.

Because of the recent cyclone Amphan, roads, bridges and culverts of 26 districts have been destroyed or partially damaged. Many quarters drew the attention of the finance minister to have some allocation for rehabilitation of the cyclone victims. But the minister did not receive those recommendations.

There is no allocation in the budget for the health safety of the laborers. Finance Minister boastfully stated that he would spend first then the money would be managed. Such a statement is nothing but a mockery with the people. If there is no income, how they would spend?

Prime Minister also claimed to tackle all the crisis with iron fist. But we saw that the government has failed to play any effective role in tackling the recent crisis like coronavirus or super cyclone Amphan or the ongoing flood in the Northern region.

We think that though this budget has kept the provision of legalizing the black money, it would not cause any good impact for the nation. Actually, this budget has been passed to preserve and protect the interest of a party and some vested quarters.