Mannan: Our Next Budget Is Not Designed to Please the IMF

According to Planning Minister MA Mannan yesterday, the upcoming budget will not be made with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in mind.

Speaking at a pre-budget discussion co-hosted by the FBCCI and the news channel NTV, he said that many were criticizing the budget for 2023–24, claiming that it would be structured in a way that would please the IMF.

"I disagree with them vehemently. Our budget has nothing to do with the IMF. Our budget has already been created.

The finance minister is anticipated to present a budget that may take into account the conditions imposed by the IMF with its $4.7 billion loan program when the planning minister makes his remarks.

The government has agreed to time-bound requirements in order to secure the loan, including some crucial structural reforms that have been on hold for years and would maintain macroeconomic stability and support strong, inclusive, and green growth while safeguarding the vulnerable.

Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, the minister of agriculture, said during the discussion that the government is working to keep the cost of necessities within the reach of the average person.

The current environment, according to Md. Jasim Uddin, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, is the worst for businesses in forty years.

He called for adjusting the tax and VAT on the imported necessities and stated that "reining inflation would be the main challenge for the upcoming budget."

The businessman demanded that Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation be strengthened in order to help the country resolve its current energy crisis.

In order to prevent production interruptions, he added, industries should be guaranteed an uninterrupted gas supply.  

Businessmen have faced a number of challenges over the past year, according to Mohammad Hatem, executive president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association. These challenges are something that people typically deal with throughout their entire lives.

A distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue named Mustafizur Rahman urged the government to widen the tax base.

Coordination between the fiscal and monetary policies is necessary.

Former central bank governor Salehuddin Ahmed claimed that local economists and experts had long recommended that the government address the problems that the IMF has now set as conditions, but that the government had not heeded their advice.  

NTV's chief news editor, Zahirul Alam, facilitated the program.