Interim govt pushes thru 116 ordinances, 14 foreign deals

The interim government has pushed through 116 ordinances and 14 bilateral agreements in its bid for stabilising governance and executing systemic reforms.
The figures were presented Thursday at a meeting of the council of advisers, according to the chief adviser's press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, now that the post-uprising regime nears its journey's end.
Briefing the press on the meeting, he said the presentation covered laws, ordinances, policies and other instruments adopted since the interim administration took charge on August 8, 2024.
Alam said the government had convened 68 regular weekly cabinet meetings during the period, at which 526 decisions were made. Of those, 439 have already been implemented, putting the implementation rate at 83 per cent.
He described the pace as "record-breaking", compared with previous administrations, arguing that the ordinances were not minor technical amendments but measures with "transformative" implications for people's lives.
A further 16 ordinances are currently in the pipeline, he added, with policy approval already granted for three. The government has also adopted 14 new policy frameworks and placed 348 summaries before the council of advisers for consideration.
In the meeting the advisers' council okayed a revised office schedule for government and autonomous institutions for the holy month of Ramadan. Under the new timings, offices will operate from 9:00am to 3.30pm, with a 15-minute break for midday prayers.
The government also moved to ease cost pressures on households by cutting taxes on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a key cooking fuel for millions of Bangladeshis.
Alam said the advisers approved the waiver of 7.5-percent value-added tax and a 2.0-percent advance tax at the local production and trader levels. For imported LPG, a reduced 7.0-percent VAT has been proposed.
The tax relief comes as the interim administration seeks to signal responsiveness to everyday economic concerns amid lingering inflationary pressures and supply vulnerabilities. Energy costs, particularly for cooking fuel, have been a politically sensitive issue in recent years.
Alam said the government would publish a full list of the 116 ordinances to allow public review, insisting that their scope and intent justified the accelerated approach. "People will see," he said, "how many of these measures will have a lasting impact on Bangladesh."

mirmostafiz@yahoo.com