Economy relatively in good shape navigating thru adversity Economy relatively in good shape navigating thru adversity PM says, stresses forward planning for next generation  News Report
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wednesday
said Bangladesh's economy is in rather
good shape now despite the pandemic
shocks worldwide, as only an Awami League
government can steer through such
adversities.
Speaking to her party hierarchy she noted
that her government disproved scepticism
of economic doomsayers through prudent
planning for the crunch time and kept the
wheel of economy moving.
The prime minister stressed forward
planning for the next generation to have
prosperous Bangladesh, so that whoever
come to power could tread that trajectory
of development.
"We placed our budget to keep the
economy moving," she said while addressing
a meeting of the Awami League presidium at
her official residence Gonobhaban, where
the party chief also called for shoring up
organisational standing down to grassroots
level through rebuilding various units.
About some macroeconomic health of the
country she mentioned that Bangladeshi
expatriates are facing some difficulties
due to the Covid-19 crisis and some of
them have to return home. Many feared that
remittance from the wage-earners would
experience a setback in this pandemic, but
it showed the opposite trend.
"Our remittance inflow has increased. It's
now USD 39.4 billion. We're giving two
percent special incentives for sending
remittance….and our foreign- currency
reserves are now in good shape as well,"
she told the party seniors.
In the budget, Hasina said, the
government fixed its deficit at 6 percent.
In the last few years, the budget deficit
was fixed at five percent. "We would have
made it 10 percent if needed. But it
wasn't required..."
From the very beginning of this crisis,
the government wanted to keep the economy
of the country moving, facing all the
challenges, she said, adding that the
government also declared stimulus packages
for keeping trade and commerce functional
on a limited scale.
Apart from the Covid-19 pandemic, the
prime minister said, the government has to
face some other natural calamities. "Due
to timely effective measurers, we've been
able to face these challenges."
The prime minister said there was a
forecast of prolonged floods in the
country and still some rivers are
overflowing. "Riverbank erosions have
taken a turn for the worse. We're taking
steps in this regard, we're trying hard."
She came up with the detailed account of
the state of economy a day after the Asian
Development Bank in its report on economic
outlook of Asia and the Pacific said the
Bangladesh economy began recovering from
the corona shocks despite world economic
slowdown. It projected the GDP growth a
6.8 in the current fiscal.
The president of Awami League said efforts
of the government as well as her party are
to serve the people, standing beside them,
come what may.
She thanked the leaders and activists of
Awami League, Juba League, BCL and Krishak
League, and government officials and
personnel of law-enforcement agencies for
their all-out efforts to help people in
this crisis period.
As Awami League is in power, it thinks
about the welfare of the commoners during
this crisis moment that engulfed the whole
world.
She mentioned that this is the policy of
Awami League, as guided by the Father of
the Nation.
Talking about suspending all the
programmes of celebrations on the birth
centenary of Father of the Nation
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, she
said safety and lives of people come first
and that is why the government is holding
its programmes virtually.
With agency inputs
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