Government should consider 8-10 per cent deficit in the upcoming budget, and austerity measures should be taken at the national level for channeling resources for the welfare of the poor.
Dr Selim Raihan said this at the sixth episode of SANEM Netizen Forum on Covid-19 pandemic that took place on Monday (May 11), says a press release.
Moderated by Dr Selim Raihan, executive director, SANEM and professor, Department of Economics, University of Dhaka, the forum was attended by around 50 participants of diverse backgrounds. The SANEM panel included Dr Sayema Haque Bidisha, professor, Department of Economics, University of Dhaka and research director, SANEM, Zubayer Hossen, research economist at SANEM, Eshrat Sharmin, research associate at SANEM, Mir Ashrafun Nahar, research associate at SANEM, Fabiha Bushra Khan, research associate, SANEM and, Shakil Ahmed, research associate, SANEM.
The episode was live-streamed on the Facebook page of SANEM.
In his introductory remarks, Dr Raihan reflected on the socio-economic impacts of the ongoing lockdown in Bangladesh. He addressed the discourse on lives vs livelihood and explained the necessity of prioritising health in policy actions as the resumption of full fledge economic activities can fuel the spread of the pandemic and undo the national achievements against the pandemic.
He also discussed the agricultural scenario—appreciating government response towards Boro harvesting. He pointed out the losses being incurred by livestock, fisheries, and fruit industries. He stressed the importance of increasing allocations for the agricultural sector, health sector and social safety net in the upcoming budget.
The forum discussed the following suggestions and proposals.
a.The resumption of economic activities has to be carefully planned. Virologists and epidemiologists must be consulted before lifting the ongoing lockdown. The economy will continue to exacerbate if the pandemic again takes hold after the resumption of economic activities
b.The upcoming budget should include a “Covid-19 response budget” for all the ministries so that the ministries can give attention to anti-pandemic measures as well while continuing their development efforts and routine work. The “Covid-19 response budget” must be designed to prioritise public health issues and act as a supporting measure for the national fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
c. Policymakers must consider austerity measures at national level. Bonus and other benefits for high-level employees can be cut off in this regard and the money saved from such austerity measures can be reallocated for emergency and relief programmes and financial schemes for SMEs. Private sector can also take some austerity measures in terms of canceling unnecessary costs and channeling resources for the welfare of the workers. To tackle the upcoming economic recession such austerity measures will be helpful.
d. The government should design a threshold so that big, medium and small businesses can be differentiated. The threshold will be used to determine the small and medium-sized businesses which can be made concessions to, in terms of loans with easier conditions and financing packages. Big business and loan defaulters should not be facilitated in this regard.
e. University Grants Commission (UGC) and the public universities must start working on academic plans which can be implemented once universities open. The plan must focus on smooth and fast completion of the semester. Rearrangement of courses, extra classes and utilisation of internet technologies should be included in the plan so that students do not lag behind.
f. The Covid-19 crisis is a wake-up call for the strengthening of institutions. Public trust on national institutions has been deteriorating and restoring the people’s trust on institutions is of paramount importance. The government must act now in making the existing institutions more efficient, transparent and accountable.