Disclose all deals signed in power sector over 15 yrs: BNP

FE Team | Published: January 02, 2025 23:45:49

The BNP has demanded that the interim government make public all the contracts signed in the power and energy sectors during the 15 years under Sheikh Hasina's rule, reports UNB.
"I urge the interim government to disclose every contract signed in the power sector over the past 15 years... they (AL govt) flouted all public procurement rules. These contracts were awarded through closed tenders, bypassing the legal procedures according to their own preferences. The people have a right to know these details," said BNP leader Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku.
He made the demand while speaking at a press conference organised by the BNP at the party chairperson's office at Gulshan in the capital on Thursday.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also spoke at the press meet.
Tuku, a BNP standing committee member and former state minister for power, said the nation wants to see the deals signed with various local and international companies in the power and energy sectors.
"How they (AL govt) made these contracts should be made public... The first task of the interim government is to disclose these contracts," he said.
The BNP leader said Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government has exploited the people of Bangladesh by creating an illusion in the electricity sector, while simultaneously draining the pockets of the public.
"Everyone pays the electricity bill, and everyone is a victim. In fact, they turned power into a business sector... they realised that quick money could be made from this sector without any accountability, because electricity is like 'air' - it cannot be seen," he said.
Tuku stated that about Tk 1000 billion has been looted in the name of capacity charges during the Awami League regime.
Presenting corruption statistics in the power sector, Tuku said, "The total expenditure over the last 15 years in the power sector is approximately Tk 3339.4 billion. Of this, around Tk 1000 billion have been looted under the guise of capacity charges."
He also called for enacting strict laws to prevent corruption and taking action against those involved in corruption in the power sector.
Addressing the press conference, Mirza Fakhrul Islam said, "It seems to us that the most corruption in the power and energy sector occurred during the 16 years of Awami League rule."