সহকারী অধ্যাপক
২৮ মার্চ, ২০২৩ ০২:৪৯ অপরাহ্ণ
CPD urges govt to provide special increment to employees in next budget
CPD
urges govt to provide special increment to employees in next budget
The Centre for Policy
Dialogue (CPD), a think- tank, on Monday urged the government to provide in the
next national budget a special increment to both public and private employees
to adjust with the inflation.
The increment will help them reduce the stress on maintaining a family’s
monthly expenditures which have increased by 25 percent due to depreciated
domestic currency, energy and electricity price hikes, the CPD said in its
proposals for FY 2023-2024 budget.
Referring to the cost of living the CPD said "Currently, a family of four
in Dhaka city has a monthly food expenditures of Tk7,131 without fish and meat
or compromise diet, while a regular diet with fish and meat costs
Tk22,664."
Considering this situation, the CPD recommended for a 5 percent salary
increment of workers in industries, as well as forming a new wage structure.
Fahmida Khatun, executive director of CDP, read out the budget proposals for
the fiscal year 2023-24, at press conference at Dhanmondi, in the capital on
Monday.
She said the price inflation of essential food products has increased by more
than 25 percent which cannot be understood using just the average price
inflation data published by the government.
“The price of sugar in Bangladesh was higher than that of the US market. Rice
prices in the country were higher than in Vietnam and Thailand, although
Bangladesh is self-sufficient in food and imports a small amount of rice,”
Fahmida pointed out.
Facing the challenges of slow recovery of the economy from Covid-19 impact and
blow of Russia-Ukraine war, the CPD suggested the government emphasises the
need to address the serious stress in Bangladesh’s economy in the upcoming
budget.
Dr Fahmida said this has accentuated the macroeconomic situation of the country
and has drawn attention away from the accumulated and embedded weaknesses
within the Bangladesh economy.
She also highlighted several disquieting developments, including negative
growth in revenue mobilisation, slow implementation of the development
projects, increased reliance on bank borrowing for deficit financing,
skyrocketing prices of essentials, declining liquidity situation of banks,
deteriorating external sector balance, and the state foreign exchange reserves.
The policymakers' scope of manoeuvring policy measures has become rather
limited due to the declining fiscal space, Fahmida said.
Considering the global and domestic situation the think-tank suggested targeted
fiscal measures take centre stage, focusing on catering to the needs of the
fixed-income earning and low-income population. Such measures should be
accompanied by monetary measures that focus on stability, such as market-based
interest rates and exchange rates.
The think-tank also emphasised that good governance and discipline are
essential for these policies to bring forth their intended results.
It also said that the reform measures proposed by the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) might prove to be beneficial in this regard.
The CPD also noted that while the current scenario may be unpopular for a
political government in an election year, proper acknowledgement of the current
situation should be at the head while formulating the budget for the next
fiscal year.
Failure to do so will result in a macro-fiscal policy stance that does not meet
the needs of the time, said CPD in the proposals.