Triangulation of problems needs attention in next budget: Debapriya

Bangladesh’s economy is reeling through a triangulation of problems posing a threat to attaining the government’s targeted economic growth of 7.0 per cent in the next fiscal year, said Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) on Sunday.

The problems include uncontrolled inflation, surging debts, and erosion of the financial space, leading to a shortage of expenditure capabilities in required sectors such as health, education, and social safety, he said during a pre-budget dialogue on 'New Government, National Budget and Citizens’ aspirations’, organised by CPD-Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh, at a hotel in Dhaka city.

The CPD distinguished fellow suggested the government address the concerns by taking the recommendations of the Citizen’s Platform.

“The next budget would determine whether the economic risk would be prolonged or not,” he noted,

Also the convenor of the Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Dr Bhattacharya presented a keynote paper at the programme with study findings on what the cross-section of people across the country is aspiring to see in the next budget.

CPD Distinguished Fellow Dr Mustafizur Rahman; lawmakers, including former Planning Minister MA Mannan, former Environment and Forest Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud and Ak Azad; and Executive Director of Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE) and core group member of Citizen’s Platform Rasheda K Chowdhury, among others, spoke at the programme.

Mr Mannan, however, expressed different views over CPD’s projected downward trend of GDP growth in the next fiscal year.

During the pre-budget dialogue, stakeholders came up with three major demands: employment, quality education and expansion of social safety net.

They also laid emphasis on addressing risks of climate change, safe drinking water, and allocations for child, transgender, acid survivors and problems faced by the urban poor.

Executive Director of CPD Dr Fahmida Khatun delivered welcome remarks and chaired the programme.

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