Referring to the people's uprising, Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin said that the movement on August 5 resulted in nearly two thousand people losing their lives, and 50,000 people are suffering from illnesses. Yet, the people of Bangladesh are returning to the same situation.
He said: "Many people are still coming for photo sessions. I don’t understand why they are taking pictures. Perhaps they are trying to show that they have a connection with the adviser. I believe this has no value."
He made these comments on Wednesday during a day-long conference titled "The Approach to Bangladesh's Developed Economic Perspective" at the Radisson Hotel in Chittagong which was organized by the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) Chittagong branch.
Addressing the businessmen and industrialists, Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin said: "Take a resolution, come together, and increase VAT and taxes by 50%. You will see the country will improve."
"During the previous government's time, there were unplanned investments in the country. As a result, subsidies are needed in agriculture to sustain the industrial sector. Our industrial sector is operated through high tariffs. People in the industrial sector do not pay taxes but do pay VAT. In a poor economy like ours, there needs to be a connection between VAT and tax," the Commerce Adviser added.
He also said: "During the previous government, politicians, bureaucrats, judges, and various forces together formed a coalition of corruption. The amount of pardons granted by the president to those involved in murder cases has never been seen in history."
He further said: "Illegal financial outflows, the rise of oligarchs, the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, the destruction of economic and political institutions, and widespread corruption have put significant pressure on the country's economy. This is why the new government, formed through student and citizen uprisings, has promised to restructure the political and economic systems. In honour of the martyrs of July-August, reforms will be implemented across all sectors of the country's industries."
Referring to the White Paper which states that Tk2.8mn crore has been stolen from the country, Sheikh Bashir Uddin said: "For such massive theft, are the 100 CEOs and 300 CFOs not responsible? Now is the time to ask such questions. This country must be built for our children. But at one point, many things happened in the country. We believed in the rhetoric. Many of us were silent. But some young people protested, and later the public joined; change occurred. If we continue to focus on the same issues and fail to recognize merit, it will not be acceptable."
Special Guest, Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Md Selim Uddin said: "How did the government provide a Tk27b crore loan to a factory with an asset value of only Tk2b crore? There are nearly 250 types of corruption in the private sector in the country. Therefore, for the interim government, economic reform is the main challenge, rather than political reform."
Toufiqul Islam Khan, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), presented the main proposal of the conference. During the event, National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan, BSRM Group Chairman Ali Hossain Akbar Ali, and ICMAB President Mahtab Uddin Ahmed also delivered speeches.