Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on Wednesday said Bangladesh cannot allow a patronage-based economy to continue and that the economy must serve all people.
Speaking to reporters on his first day at the Finance Ministry, he said a level playing field must be ensured so that every citizen has the opportunity to participate in economic activities and benefit from growth.
He said the first priority was to recover state institutions, which he described as being in very poor condition.
“Our state institutions are in a very bad shape. We have to address this first. The institutions must be recovered,” said Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury.
He said professionalism, transparency and efficiency must be restored within institutions, warning that in their absence even the largest programmes would fail.
“This is the number one issue,” he said, adding that no major initiative would work without institutional reform.
“The second point is that the economy must be democratised. We cannot allow a patronage economy to continue. Bangladesh’s economy must be for all people,” he said.
He reiterated the need for equal rights and fair competition so that the benefits of economic growth reach everyone.
He said serious deregulation and liberalisation would be required to achieve this goal, arguing that Bangladesh has become an over-regulated country due to years of patronage-based politics.
“We have to undertake serious deregulation. We have to liberalise and create a level playing field so that everyone has equal rights to participate in the economy and its benefits reach all,” said Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury.
