Leaders of the civil society organizations feared that unprecedented debt will surely derail the hope of sustainability after Bangladeshs graduation as a middle-income country.
At a human chain organized in front of Jatiya Press Club, they have made the remark and urged for overcoming the situation. Mustafa Kamal Akanda of COAST Foundation moderated the event presided over by Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, the Chief Moderator of EquityBD.
Representatives of other civil society organizations include BDCSO Process, Bangladesh Krishok Federation, CLEAN, CSRL, NDF, Online Knowledge Society, Sundarban Bachao Andolon, Young Change Makers, and Water Keepers Bangladesh also participated.
Among others, Hasan Mehedi of CLEAN, Ferdous Ara Rumee of International Rural Womens Day, Omour Faruk Bhuiya of BDCSO Process, Mamun Kabir of Water Keepers Bangladesh, Barkat Ullah Maruf of COAST Foundation, Abul Hasan of EquityBD, Mir Mohammad Ali of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Sohanur Rahman Sohan of Youth Change Maker, and Pradip K Roy of Online Knowledge Society spoke in the event.
Omour Faruk Bhuiya of BDCSO said in his speech that the total budget of FY 2024-25 will be Tk 8.05 trillion including a debt of Tk 2.75 trillion. The per capita debt is now US$580. The repayment of this unprecedented amount of debt will cause reductions in the lifeline of people.
Ferdous Ara Rumee, secretary general of International Rural Womens Day Observation Committee said 91 per cent of people are involved in the informal sector employment where 95 per cent are women. We must evaluate the progress of women through the yearly gender-budget reporting system.
Mustafa Kamal Akanda of COAST Foundation said the total budget for roads and highways is Tk 875 billion while there is no allocation for safety in the road. The number of deaths in road accidents in 2023 is 8,505.
Mir Mohammad Ali, Assistant Professor of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University said that fisheries and aquaculture sector employed nearly 1.4 million people, but the budget hardly considers how the poor fisher-folk would survive during three to four fishing ban periods across the year.
Pradip K Roy of Online Knowledge Centre said the government must allocate enough budgets for skilled human resources if we want to take advantage of the demographic dividend by 2040.
Abul Hasan of EquityBD said internal climate-induced migration is one of the biggest challenges for Bangladesh.
Even after five years of migration strategy paper is developed, not enough investment is declared on it.
Hasan Mehedi of CLEAN said in his speech the governments 8th FYP planned to achieve at least 10 per cent renewable energy by 2025, which is now only 3 per cent. The allocation for power in the upcoming budget is Tk 450 billion hardly has the allocation to achieve the target.
Rezaul K Chowdhury, the chief moderator of EquityBD said in the closing remarks that the entire process of budget in Bangladesh is undemocratic. Even the participation of the parliament members in the budget process is questionable.
