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Speaking at an event organized on Saturday (July 26) at the CIRDAP Auditorium in the capital to launch the new book *Economy, Governance, and Power: A Portrait of Lived Experience* by prominent economist and researcher Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, he emphasized the need for a robust political system.
He said, “Ensuring good governance has become increasingly difficult over the years. To address this situation, there is a need for an opposition force to ensure ‘checks and balances’.”
Highlighting the necessity of reforms, the Finance Adviser remarked, “Good governance is very challenging. There are no ‘checks and balances’ for the Prime Minister or Members of Parliament. Without reforms here, no matter how many other reforms are undertaken, they will yield no results. Political parties also need internal reforms.”
Drawing from his experience in the Finance Ministry, he added, “Governing a country like Bangladesh is difficult. We are trying our best, but the desired progress is not being achieved. Still, we aim to leave some footprints for the next government to follow.”
Addressing the banking sector, he raised concerns, stating, “Chairpersons of various banks have looted around 80 percent of the funds and fled abroad. If a bank has an outstanding amount of Tk 20,000 crore, Tk 16,000 crore of it has been siphoned off.”
He further noted that stabilizing Bangladesh’s banking sector would require approximately $35 billion, although the IMF initially estimated this need at $18 billion.
The Finance Adviser stressed that reviving an economy on the brink of collapse is not easy and poses a significant challenge for the future. Emphasizing the need to increase the tax-to-GDP ratio, he pointed out that Bangladesh’s ratio is currently at 7.5 percent, far below countries like Norway and Sweden.
The event was attended by BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, along with other speakers, including Professor Mahbub Ullah, President of Bangladesh Enterprise Institute M Humayun Kabir, writer and analyst Altaf Parvez, CPD Executive Director Dr. Fahmida Khatun, Professor Abu Ahmed, researcher Khandakar Sakhawat Ali, Bhuiya Asaduzzaman, and former NBR Chairman Md. Abdul Majid.
