Planning minister not happy with slight fall in Sept inflation

Planning Minister MA Mannan on Wednesday expressed his dissatisfaction with the slight fall in inflation in September, saying that the people are still suffering from the price spiral.
Mannan made the remarks after a meeting with World Bank (WB) Country Director in Bangladesh Abdoulaye Seck at his office in the Planning Commission.
"The government is doing its best to curb inflation," the minister said. "I hope it will come down to 5 to 6 per cent by the end of this fiscal year."
Bangladesh's point-to-point inflation in September fell slightly to 9.63 per cent from 9.92 per cent in August. However, the country has been struggling with inflationary pressure over the last few months, as prices of many food and non-food items have surged to new highs.
Meanwhile, WB Country Director Mr Seck suggested reforms in the financial sector to achieve macroeconomic stability and curb inflation.
"Bangladesh needs to reform its financial sector in a variety of areas including exchange rate policy, inflation and monetary policy, to achieve macroeconomic stability," Mr Seck told reporters after the meeting with the minister.
He said the World Bank would continue its support to the necessary reform programmes in Bangladesh.
The WB Bangladesh Chief has also emphasised widening the social safety-net programme to help the poor, who are the worst victims of inflationary pressure.
When asked, Minister MA Mannan replied, "Reforms are an ongoing process". He said, "The World Bank has expressed satisfaction with the reforms we are conducting. Nevertheless, they want more reforms."
Both the government and the WB believe that development will continue if the social and political environment remains favourable in the coming months, he added.
The planning minister said that inflation did not increase in September, which is a relief for them. "The government is doing everything necessary to reduce inflation. It will come down to 5.0 to 6.0 per cent by the end of this fiscal year."
"The World Bank has suggested further expansion of safety-net programmes for low-income groups to combat inflationary shocks. They have said that it will provide more support to improve the quality of life of the Rohingya people," said the planning minister.
kabirhumayan10@gmail.com