Muhith shrugs off WB advice on bailout

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FE Report
Finance Minister AMA Muhith said Wednesday the government will announce its stimulus package for meltdown-hit local export sectors in the next few days.
"The proposed incentive package for affected export sectors will be announced any day… And the announcement is to be made before the prime minister leaves Dhaka for Saudi Arabia, which is scheduled for April 22," Mr Muhith told newsmen.
By this time, some steps, including relaxation of rules and regulations on classified loans and reduction of bank interest rates, have already been taken to help local sectors face the external shock, he said.
The finance minister was talking to newsmen after a meeting with a delegation of the Association of Development Agencies in Bangladesh (ADAB), led by its chairperson Abdul Matin, at his ministry.
The sectors that are affected by the ongoing global financial crisis will come under the stimulus package, Mr Muhith said without elaborating on the nature and extent of the proposed support.
When his attention was drawn to the warning given recently by the World Bank (WB) about offering such bailout programme, the minister said: "It is their (WB's) view … We have to think about the fallout of the global recession from our own perspective."
About his meeting with the ADAB leaders, the finance minister said the association, which has been remaining virtually ineffective since 2003 following an official notification, has sought the government's intervention in getting rid of the prevailing situation.
Responding to a query, Mr Muhith hinted at cancellation of the previous official order to activate the ADAB again.
Terming the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as 'our development partners', the minister said the government is considering integrating them with various development programmes under private-public partnership (PPP) arrangements.
About the transparency and accountability of NGOs working in the country, he said the government is reviewing their activities.
At the meeting, the ADAB put some proposals including enhancement of allocations to agriculture, healthcare and education sectors in the budget for the next fiscal 2009-2010.
Strongly opposing the previously formed Micro-Credit Regulatory Authority, it urged the government to form an 'NGO Commission' for regulating the organisations.