Special Correspondent :
Economists have identified a number of challenges to the implementation of the proposed budget with regard to the country’s prevailing macroeconomic context.
Terming the new budget ‘modestly expansionary,’ they said that the ambitious spending plan depends on the government’s ability to mobilise foreign fund and strengthen the revenue collection.
“The government will face daunting challenges to implement the next fiscal’s budget due to weak institutional capacity of the government agencies,” economist Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam told The New Nation in his instant budget reaction.
“It’s a big budget…the government agencies do not have the capacity to implement the budget,” he added.
Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam, a former Adviser of the Caretaker Government, also expressed skeptical view over the full ADP implementation in the next fiscal due to revenue shortfall and election year uncertainty.
“In my view, the revenue collection target fixed for the next fiscal may not be realized in view of sluggish economic activities in the election year. The revenue shortfall will also act negatively on the way to budget execution, specially ADP implementation,” he added.
Dr AB Mirza Aziz also blamed improper project selection, delay in approval process, slow capital expenditure and feeble institutional capacity of the government agencies for sluggish ADP implementation.
“The cost of implementing projects is rising every year due to lack of effective and proper implementation of the budget,” he observed.
He said the government should introduce carrot and stick policy for the public agencies to ensure timely implementation of development projects.
When asked, he said, “It is not an ambitious budget if we compare with the neighbouring countries. But when it comes to the government’s implementation capacity, it looks ambitious,” he added.
“One of the major challenges of the proposed budget is the revenue collection. The proposed budget projecting over 30 per cent growth in revenue collection is impossible to realize in the current economic context. The budget implementation will be disrupted due to revenue shortfall,” Distinguished Fellow of the Center for Policy Dialogue Prof Mustafizur Rahman told The New Nation.
He said implementing the Annual Development Programme (ADP) of Tk 1,73,000 crore will be another big challenge for the government due to inefficiencies of the government agencies.
“The government placed another big budget when challenges are evident in the various economic fronts. Most budgetary goals may remain unrealized if the government fails to take risk aversion measures, ” former Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed told The New Nation.
He said the government would face challenge to increase tax revenue, finance the deficit, achieve revenue collection target and generate jobs in the next fiscal due to economic uncertainty arising from domestic and international factors and sluggish investment.
“The proposed budget lacks directive to increase income of low income people, generate jobs for millions of youths and welfare of people across the country,” he observed.
Dr Salehuddin Ahmed observed that the national economy has already plunged into challenges with rising global oil prices, huge current account deficit and currency devaluation.
“Oil prices have jumped from about $48 to $ 65 per barrel while banking sector chaos made the lending rates volatile. These will push up inflationary pressure on economy,” he added.
Economists have identified a number of challenges to the implementation of the proposed budget with regard to the country’s prevailing macroeconomic context.
Terming the new budget ‘modestly expansionary,’ they said that the ambitious spending plan depends on the government’s ability to mobilise foreign fund and strengthen the revenue collection.
“The government will face daunting challenges to implement the next fiscal’s budget due to weak institutional capacity of the government agencies,” economist Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam told The New Nation in his instant budget reaction.
“It’s a big budget…the government agencies do not have the capacity to implement the budget,” he added.
Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam, a former Adviser of the Caretaker Government, also expressed skeptical view over the full ADP implementation in the next fiscal due to revenue shortfall and election year uncertainty.
“In my view, the revenue collection target fixed for the next fiscal may not be realized in view of sluggish economic activities in the election year. The revenue shortfall will also act negatively on the way to budget execution, specially ADP implementation,” he added.
Dr AB Mirza Aziz also blamed improper project selection, delay in approval process, slow capital expenditure and feeble institutional capacity of the government agencies for sluggish ADP implementation.
“The cost of implementing projects is rising every year due to lack of effective and proper implementation of the budget,” he observed.
He said the government should introduce carrot and stick policy for the public agencies to ensure timely implementation of development projects.
When asked, he said, “It is not an ambitious budget if we compare with the neighbouring countries. But when it comes to the government’s implementation capacity, it looks ambitious,” he added.
“One of the major challenges of the proposed budget is the revenue collection. The proposed budget projecting over 30 per cent growth in revenue collection is impossible to realize in the current economic context. The budget implementation will be disrupted due to revenue shortfall,” Distinguished Fellow of the Center for Policy Dialogue Prof Mustafizur Rahman told The New Nation.
He said implementing the Annual Development Programme (ADP) of Tk 1,73,000 crore will be another big challenge for the government due to inefficiencies of the government agencies.
“The government placed another big budget when challenges are evident in the various economic fronts. Most budgetary goals may remain unrealized if the government fails to take risk aversion measures, ” former Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed told The New Nation.
He said the government would face challenge to increase tax revenue, finance the deficit, achieve revenue collection target and generate jobs in the next fiscal due to economic uncertainty arising from domestic and international factors and sluggish investment.
“The proposed budget lacks directive to increase income of low income people, generate jobs for millions of youths and welfare of people across the country,” he observed.
Dr Salehuddin Ahmed observed that the national economy has already plunged into challenges with rising global oil prices, huge current account deficit and currency devaluation.
“Oil prices have jumped from about $48 to $ 65 per barrel while banking sector chaos made the lending rates volatile. These will push up inflationary pressure on economy,” he added.
