Business Reporter :
Harmonisation of different economic policies and development planning remains missing in the country creating severe obstacles in overall economic development, speakers said at a seminar on ‘Harmonisation of economic policy in Bangladesh’ organised by Board of Investment at BIAM auditorium in the capital recently.
Speakers also said, “A coordinated economic policy is a must for accelerating the economic growth of the country.”
They urged the government to bring harmonisation in between the market price and the field level price of the agricultural products to increase production, ensuring best price for the farmers.
Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Accounts Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, in his keynote speech said, there was no harmonisation between energy policy and development planning of the government, between growth and infrastructure development, between financial management and banking system management, and between fiscal policy and monetary policy.
The government should pay attention to these issues as well as extracting coal, improving infrastructure, protecting sick and other local industries, reducing bank interest rate, reducing hassles in providing environment clearance certificates and increasing development budget, Alamgir said.
‘We will not use the strength of private sector until and unless we cannot develop a coordinated infrastructure system including road, rail, water way and port,’ he said.
Establishing harmonisation among the government organisations is a must to accelerate the economic growth, viewed Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir.
“Harmonisation, convergence and compatibility are the keys of economic growth of a country,” said Khan.
Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said, “To make decisions on time and to stop extra expenditures are the main keys to attain the goal for becoming a middle-income country by 2021.”
In the Sixth Five Year Plan, the government has given importance on workers’ productivity and product diversification. And in the Seventh Five Year Plan, importance would be given on banking, bond market, acquisition and merger, hinted Mustafa Kamal.
“We should concentrate on the urbanisation process and it should also be complied with the harmonisation, convergence and compatibility, as the urbanisation rate would be 67percent in 2050,” said Kamal.
BoI Chairman SA Samad said the government needed to increase the share of its investment to facilitate overall economic development in the country.
Currently, more than 80 per cent of annual investment in the country comes from private sector, he said.
Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority member Syed Nurul Islam said the Department of Environment would have to reduce hassle and time in providing environment clearance certificate as many foreign investors made allegation to BEPZA that they faced problems in getting the certificate.
Daily Arthoneeti Editor Zahiduzzaman Faruque, Planning Commission member Humayun Khalid, among others, spoke at the programme.
