Finance Minister Muhith blames pervasive corruption for impeding power sector development; he rules out political uncertainty in country

By AKM Moinuddin

Dhaka, June 26 (UNB) – Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Saturday admitted government’s failure to mitigate electricity crisis in its first year but blamed pervasive corruption for impeding power sector development.
“It’s only because of corruption that we could do nothing… it compelled us to go for quick rental power plants to address the demand of electricity in the short-term,” he said at a post-budget discussion in the afternoon.
Bazlur Rahman Foundation arranged the discussion at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) with its chairman Khondkar Ibrahim Khalid in the chair.
Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister GM Qader, former finance adviser to the caretaker government Dr Mirza Azizul Islam, economist Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, Rashed Khan Menon MP, former Bangladesh Bank governor Dr Farash Uddin, economist MM Akash, outgoing FBCCI president Annisul Huq, editor of the Financial Express Moazzem Hossain and woman entrepreneur Selima Ahmed, among others, took part in the discussion.
Speaking as chief guest at the discussion, Finance Minister Muhith defended the government stand on quick rental power plants, saying they could not finalize a deal even after inviting tenders for the fourth time, which compelled them to opt for quick rental power plants.
He said: “The subsidy that will be required for the power sector is not high considering the reality… development works will not be hampered if the government’s roadmap for the power sector is implemented.”
Muhith reiterated the government plan to add some 1200 megawatt of electricity in the national grid within this year.
He said two power plants each having 100 megawatt generation capacity –one run by diesel and the other by furnace oil - would go into generation in July and September. This will improve the power situation.
About the government’s road map for power sector development, he said as it would take time to go for coal-based power generation, they would allow diesel and furnace oil-based power generation for maximum two and five years respectively.
Responding to a discussant’s concern, the Finance Minister said: “In reality, we don’t see any political uncertainty. It’s only found in public speeches and television talk-shows.”
Muhith said the government would bring reforms in income tax within next six months to modernize the entire process.
He justified the duty cut on imported powdered milk and said this is temporary. “We took the decision to keep the local market stable as the price of powdered milk increased sharply in international market.”
Defending the budget deficit, he said: “It’s not a deficit at all for a country like Bangladesh.”
Talking about effective administration that is urgently needed for balanced development, the Finance Minister said politicization has destroyed effective administration.
He said some state-owned enterprises including Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) have turned into sick industries. “There will be specific directives on the sick industries in the coming industrial policy.”
Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister GM Qader in his speech said corruption-free administration and governance are the two challenges for the government, which will have to be ensured for ADP implementation.
“Proper targeting and intensive monitoring are needed for qualitative implementation of budget. As we’re in government, we’ll seriously look into the matter.”
He said the government should take a quick decision on coal policy for implementing its roadmap for power sector development.
Dr Mirza Azizul Islam said that attaining the targeted 6.7 percent GDP growth depends on private sector investment. He thinks 5 percent deficit financing is not a big deal in Bangladesh perspective.
END/UNB/