People's expectation from last budget
Saturday, 7 June 2008
WHEN the national budget for 2007-2008 was announced last year, the reconstituted caretaker government faced a great challenge to manage resources for development. The government received both appreciation and criticism for presenting its first budget in the absence of a parliament. The government could not check the market, which remained beyond their control.
Whether one would accept it or not, the new caretaker government has used all its good intention to prepare the budget for the welfare of the people. It increased and reduced rates of taxes in the budget for meeting the target of seven per cent economic growth rate. After one year when we sit to assess their achievement, we see more of failures than successes.
It is true that the government had to face many adverse situations like the Sidr, two successive flood, unusual hike of petroleum in the international market etc. It, however, could not control the activities of the so-called syndicates that are as reported in the media, believed to be behind the abnormal hike of prices of different items
As the first budget of the caretaker government is now almost at its close, the concerned departments are busy working out the figures and data to show the successes of the government. But the evaluation by the mass people are unlikely to go in line with such facts and figures. People want the availability of goods and services at affordable prices. They want work and security in life. The official statistics and figures can not change the reality faced by the common people.
M Rashedul Alam
Karwan Bazar, Dhaka
Whether one would accept it or not, the new caretaker government has used all its good intention to prepare the budget for the welfare of the people. It increased and reduced rates of taxes in the budget for meeting the target of seven per cent economic growth rate. After one year when we sit to assess their achievement, we see more of failures than successes.
It is true that the government had to face many adverse situations like the Sidr, two successive flood, unusual hike of petroleum in the international market etc. It, however, could not control the activities of the so-called syndicates that are as reported in the media, believed to be behind the abnormal hike of prices of different items
As the first budget of the caretaker government is now almost at its close, the concerned departments are busy working out the figures and data to show the successes of the government. But the evaluation by the mass people are unlikely to go in line with such facts and figures. People want the availability of goods and services at affordable prices. They want work and security in life. The official statistics and figures can not change the reality faced by the common people.
M Rashedul Alam
Karwan Bazar, Dhaka