Country’s Economy Not In Bad Shape: Dr Salehuddin

The country’s economy on the whole is not in bad shape, says finance adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed.

“The country’s economy is doing well overall, while a section of people may be suffering to some extent,” he told the media today (March 5) at Bangladesh Secretariat.

He said there is a bit of sloth in the trade and commerce activities, while the source of income of people might have been affected to some extent.

“But, it’s not like the economy is on the verge of destruction; rather, we’ve recovered it from falling further,” he added.

Dr Salehuddin said it is true that the pace of new employment generation is a bit slow and the government is now focusing on bringing more infrastructure projects at the ECNEC.

“Besides, we’re also trying to boost the trade and commerce activities,” he added.

The finance adviser said that he was lauded by a chamber for directing the Bangladesh Bank to give more loans to the CMSMEs.

“I acknowledge that the people are suffering to some extent from the current situation and we’re also vying for ensuring more income-generating activities for people.

We’ve already revised the ADP and we’ll bring more projects in the ECNEC…” he added.

He said they are also trying to create alternate employment opportunities.

Dr Salehuddin, also the former central bank governor, said that they are still providing cash incentives to the RMG sector, adding that the RMG sector on a whole is in good shape.

He said that the government has special attention to this sector and they are importing LNG to meet the growing demand.

“We’re trying continuously and we’ll also ensure the supply chain in the businesses and to the livelihood of common people,” he said.

Replying to a question on the implementation of projects under the Indian Line of Credit, he said that they are discussing and reviewing the progress while being delayed does not always mean that the project works remained stopped.

He said the projects, which were framed no matter under which government, would continue…. “But we’ll review the progress of those projects which saw minimum utilisation… But we don’t have any intention to stop their implementation right at this moment.”

Replying to another question, the adviser said he was satisfied with the current market management according to its capacity. “It could have been better if the management could have improved further. Please compare the prices of essentials with the previous year … we’ll have to see the dynamics,” he added.

The finance adviser also suggested all concerned keep an eye on the inflationary trend, as it could reduce further like the previous months.