Muhith terms Accord, Alliance as gallows

Finance Minister AMA Muhith Monday observed that the Accord and the Alliance have turned to be gallows for the country’s readymade garment (RMG) sector.

“Bangladesh had welcomed Accord and Alliance for gaining the confidence of buyers. But, their activities have now turned into gallows for the RMG sector,” he said.

The Finance Minister was addressing a post-budget views-exchange meeting with the leaders of BGMEA, BKMEA and BTMA at the secretariat.

BGMEA president M Atiqul Islam and BKMEA president AKM Salim Osman were, among others, present at the meeting. At the meeting, the BGMEA chief and other leaders apprised Muhith of the activities of Accord and Alliance.The finance minister noted that the two organisations perhaps want to suppress the country’s garment sector as Bangladesh holds a lion share of global RMG export. The business leaders also placed a five-point demand to the Finance Minister, including upholding the existing rate of tax at source and withdrawing 1 percent duty on the import of capital machinery for the apparel sector, according to a news agency.