He made the remarks on Friday morning while delivering a statement under Rule 300 on the 13th day of the first session of the 13th National Parliament.
The minister said, “We are working to restore discipline across various sectors of the economy and have started preparing the budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year despite multiple pressures. We are fully aware of the high expectations of the people regarding the first budget of the newly elected government.”
“Over the past 16 years, the country’s economy has been pushed to the brink of collapse due to unlimited corruption and unrestrained looting. As a result, social and institutional sectors have become ineffective,” he added.
He said a comparison of macroeconomic indicators for FY2005-06, FY2023-24 and FY2024-25 shows that although the size of the economy has increased, structural weaknesses have become more pronounced.
GDP growth stood at 6.78 percent in FY2005-06, which declined to 4.22 per cent in FY2023-24, while inflation rose from 7.17 per cent to 9.73 percent over the same period.
Industrial growth dropped from 10.66 percent to 3.51 per cent, and agricultural growth fell from 5.77 percent to 3.30 percent.
He said the lack of adequate employment in the industrial and service sectors is pushing young people towards agriculture, increasing disguised unemployment and reducing productivity.
The minister said agriculture accounts for 41 percent of total employment but contributes only 11.6 percent to national income, indicating low labour productivity and the risk of jobless growth, while the balance between savings and investment has also weakened.
National savings declined from 29.94 percent in FY2005-06 to 28.42 per cent in FY2023-24, he said.
The value of the taka against the US dollar rose from Tk67.2 in FY2005-06 to Tk121 in FY2024-25.
He said growth in money supply and reserve money has slowed, while private sector credit growth fell from 18.3 percent to 6.5 percent in FY2024-25, reflecting a liquidity crisis in the banking sector and slower investment.
The minister said the government’s ability to mobilise resources has been limited due to stagnant revenue collection, tax evasion and wastage.
He said the budget deficit increased from 2.9 percent in FY2005-06 to 4.05 percent.
Mega projects implemented in previous years were overvalued and carried out without proper feasibility studies, meaning the public did not receive the expected benefits, he said.
He also alleged that large amounts of money were laundered abroad through these projects.
Interest payments rose from Tk85 billion in FY2005-06 to Tk1,147 billion in FY2023-24, an increase of more than 13 times.
He said the rising reliance on domestic borrowing has made it difficult for the private sector, particularly small and medium enterprises, to access credit.
While export and import growth were positive in FY2005-06, they turned negative in FY2023-24, he added.
Due to economic malpractice, hundi and money laundering, foreign exchange reserves have fallen to $20 billion, although remittance inflows have increased significantly during the tenure of the interim government.
