This government won't borrow from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by agreeing all the conditions set with the ousted Awami League administration, says Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury.
"The lending programme was taken by the Awami League government. There are many conditions in the programme, some of which may not be acceptable to us," he tells reporters. Terming the Awami League government "unelected" one, Mr Chowdhury, just back from the IMF headquarters, says the current one is elected and it will not accept the conditions that hinder people's interests.
The minister was briefing newsmen at his office at Bangladesh Secretariat on return home from Washington, DC, after attending the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group.
The minister and his team had bilateral meetings with IMF top officials where they discussed various unmet conditions under the US$5.5-billion lending package. The release of $1.3 billion in two tranches under the loan programme by this June now faces uncertainties following repeated failure in meeting the terms.
To a query, Mr Chowdhury, however, could not give a tentative timeline whether the loan installments will be disbursed by June or will see further delay.
"The discussion is ongoing and it may continue 15 to 20 days--even a month,' he says, adding that the government will take decision based on the discussion outcomes.
Further says the minister: "This is a democratically elected government. We have made many promises to the people. We will not accept anything sans protecting the interests of our people here."
The pending issues with the IMF are under discussion. "I have to make sure that the decisions we take would not put any pressure on the people and businessmen of our country."
Asked whether the fuel-oil price has been raised under IMF's pressure, Mr Chowdhury answered in the negative. "Oil prices have increased everywhere in the world following the conflicts in the Middle East while Bangladesh took huge time for the same."
He says they have not increased the prices a lot, and cites as an example that in Sri Lanka, oil prices have gone up by 25 per cent.
The economic pointsman of the BNP-led government is not sure whether fuel-oil-price hike would lead to commodity price rises. "Inflation may or may not go up. Because, in the inflation basket fuel oil has little contribution."
syful-islam@outlook.com
