C T Online Desk: The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has said that the economy has not seen significant momentum in the past six months, and the interim government has failed to generate employment.
It stressed that the primary goal of the interim administration should be to create a conducive environment for elections as soon as possible.
The statement was made during a press conference at the CPD office in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, on Wednesday.
At the event, titled “Bangladesh Economy 2024-25: Challenges in a Time of Crisis and Meeting Expectations,” CPD’s Executive Director Fahmida Khatun presented the keynote paper.
She said: “Political and institutional stability is essential for attracting both domestic and foreign investment. The interim government must prioritize creating a proper election environment as soon as possible.”
CPD highlighted that the July protests stemmed from a lack of employment opportunities. Discriminatory policies of the previous government had worsened the unemployment crisis and increased social inequality. The interim government has yet to take effective measures to improve employment.
The press conference was attended by CPD’s distinguished fellow Professor Mustafizur Rahman, Research Director Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Research Fellows Muntasir Kamal and Syed Yusuf Saadat, among others.
CPD said that no government can sustain itself without a public mandate and called for elections within the timeframe announced by the interim government.
Fahmida Khatun said: “The interim government has pledged to hold elections between December this year and June next year. We want elections to take place as per the announced roadmap. The democratic process must resume as soon as possible.”
She also said: “As of October in this fiscal year, revenue collection growth was only 3.7%, compared to 17.7% during the same period last year. This indicates a significant decline in revenue collection.”
She added: “Besides revenue collection, there has been no visible improvement in the implementation of the Annual Development Program (ADP), inflation control, employment, or private investment. The interim government has taken several initiatives, but no success has been observed yet.”
Fahmida Khatun further said: “This government had promised to make power purchase agreements public, but they have yet to be disclosed.”
CPD revealed that it had recently applied under the Right to Information (RTI) Act for access to documents related to 28 power plants from the previous government. However, the interim government denied access, citing national security concerns.
Referring to taxation, Mustafizur Rahman said: “The government is increasing VAT on various products at a time when ordinary people are suffering under inflation. Inflation is double the wage growth.”
“The interim government had an opportunity to increase direct taxation, but it chose not to. Instead, it is focusing more on indirect taxes,” he added.
He further added: “The government does not fully receive the taxes paid by the people. There were opportunities to address these gaps, but they were not utilized.”
He also said: “The International Monetary Fund (IMF) did not specifically ask to increase VAT. It only suggested increasing revenue by any means. However, instead of raising direct taxes, the government is opting for indirect taxation.”
