Muhith seeks WB budgetary support for some reforms

FE Report
Finance Minister AMA Muhith sought Tuesday budgetary assistance from the World Bank for bringing some reforms.
"The government will undertake some reforms in the banking sector, social safety-net system and food distribution system in the upcoming budget," Mr Muhtih told the journalists after his meeting with visiting WB Vice President Phillippe Le Houerou at his Secretariat office.
"We sought budgetary assistance from the World Bank, as development partners only provide budget assistance for bringing reforms," the minister said adding that the WB had not provided any such assistance for long.
Commenting on the next budget, Mr Muhith said power, energy, secondary education and agriculture sector would get the maximum priority.
Emerging from the meeting, the WB vice president told the journalists that the bank would provide a financial assistance for the government to the tune of about US$ 2.7 billion in the current fiscal year 2013-14, the highest ever assistance of the bank in a single fiscal year.
Although the bank had withdrawn its financing for the Padma Bridge project, the WB was investing in many other sectors of the country including agriculture, health, education and social development, he told the media.

"We want to explore many other sectors of the country for development assistance as the bank's intervention helped a lot in achieving women's empowerment, disaster management, micro finance and other social development," Mr. Houerou said.   
He said the WB was supporting the government's vision to achieve the middle income country status by 2021.
"To fulfill the target now the country needs to focus on development of infrastructure including energy and power, railways and ports," Mr Houerou said.
Praising the big success of the readymade garment sector in Bangladesh, the vice president said it was doing very well next after China.
"Now the country needs to focus on reform of its regulatory framework to sustain the growth of the industry," he observed.
He attributed the growth and the macro-economic success the country achieved to mainly the entrepreneurship and commitment of the people of the country.  
About participation in the Padma Bridge project Mr. Houerou said the government was implementing the project with its own fund.
"Financing the project is not important, how the project is implemented is very important," the WB vice president said.
He also said he would visit many projects financed by the WB outside Dhaka to see for himself the field-level work.
However, while talking to the journalists the finance minister came down heavily on Planning Minister AHM Mostafa Kamal for his latest comment on the former. Mr Muhith said a minister had to maintain a minimum level of decency.
"The ministers have to maintain some level of good manner, this is all my point," Mr Muhith said in his reaction.
When asked about the planning minister's comment that the finance minister was taking pension from the WB, Mr Muhith said the planning minister had made the remark based on wrong information.  "I do not get any pension from anyone in the world except Bangladesh government," he said.
About filing a case against the WB, Mr Muhith said: "Yes, I made a comment on it that I would file a case against the bank, if I was a general public."
"Being a minister filing a case against the World Bank is beyond the minimum level of manner, because they are the biggest development partner of the government," he said.
About the comment on PPP (public private partnership), Mr Muhith said it was his weakness that he knew little about PPP. "He should clarify himself about it. I have nothing to do with it."
Meanwhile, the BSS quotes the finance minister as saying that the WB credit support to Bangladesh might reach US$ 2.8 billion in the current fiscal year, as the Washington-based development partner so far released $ 1.7 billion.
Mr Muhith also said the WB vice-president had wanted to know about the latest position of the Padma Bridge project and he told him that the government was planning to invite tender in June or July this year for construction of the main bridge. Two more tenders would also be floated by July-August, he added.