In a bid to combat the ongoing power and energy crises in the country, the authorities have decided to reduce electricity consumption by 25% in all government offices.
Dr Ahmad Kaikaus, principal secretary to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, made the announcement on Wednesday following a meeting on the government's austerity measures. The meeting was attended by senior secretaries and secretaries of all ministries and government departments.
It was also decided at the meeting that the finance division will issue necessary gazettes with the aim of using less than 20% of the energy sector budget allocation.
A decision was taken to cut down on foreign travels of government officials unless they are absolutely necessary.
It directed government officials to refrain from organizing physical meetings, directing them to shift to virtual meetings.
In addition, to keep prices of commodities in check, the secretaries advised introducing market monitoring and taking action against illegal stockpiling through mobile courts.
They also instructed all departments to take necessary steps for increasing internal resource collection from the very beginning of the current fiscal year and also urged the NBR to take effective measures to reach set targets.
"Each ministry will review its own procurement plan and take initiatives to reduce revenue expenditure," Dr Kaikaus added.
He also reminded all to keep in mind the PM’s directives on maintaining austerity while using electricity.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday urged all concerned, including stakeholders in the public and private sectors, to maintain austerity in all fields, including in power consumption, in the wake of the global inflationary situation.
Dr Kaikaus said there is no need to panic over the ongoing electricity situation in the country. He said the government was taking some measures as precaution so that the nation does not face any sudden power crisis.
Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah, senior secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), at the meeting said that the measures do not indicate that the situation is bad in the country. Rather it is that Bangladesh is taking some precautions so that the situation does not get worse in line with worsening economic, food and energy crises across the world.
The secretaries also shed light on how to execute austerity in government expenses in the fallout of the Ukraine-Russia war and prolonged Covid situation.
