Lawmakers demanded they be involved in the budget making procedure and to extend the duration of discussion over budget at the national parliament.
They made the demand while speaking at a discussion programme jointly organised by Development Media Limited and Democratic Budget Movement at Ministers hostel’s IPD Conference Hall in the parliament building yesterday.
Deputy speaker of the National Parliament Md Fazle Rabbi Miah, speaking as the chief guest, said actual economic growth would not be more than 7% this year and achieving 6.6 or 6.7% growth would be considered a success of the budget.
“Since Taj Uddin’s Budget of 1974, no political leader made the budget. Till 1996 technocrats, bureaucrats or Army personnel made the budget which were not democratic,” he said adding after 1996 the situation has changed.
Former Chief Whip Abdus Shahid also demanded extension of the duration of budget discussion at the parliament and in parliamentary committee.
Md Afzal Hossain MP said: “Our regional problem can be solved by regional budget.”
Nazmul Haque Prodhan MP said: “Parliament members have no scope of participating in the budget procedure; for this reason people say it is not a public oriented budget.”
Quazi Rosy MP said: “Our national budget would have to be coordinated with our expectation and what we get.”
In the discussion, Fazilatunnesa Bappy MP proposed to arrange a mid-year meeting at the parliament to discuss the budget.
Khwaja Maiduddin, journalist of Prothom Alo, said at the discussion program: “Ministry of Finance is at the helm of preparing national budgets but reflection of the people’s expectations is very less in the budgets. This has become a character of our national budgets.”
Manwar Mustafa, task force member of Democratic Budget Movement, said: “Duration of the budget should be increased and a change in the financial year is important, but for those the constitution needs to be changed. It is time that the businesses which were given tax holidays be brought to account.”
Abdur Rahman Harmachi of BDNews24.com said: “This year’s budget is very important for various reason. Because of the low fuel oil prices in the international market, the government has saved huge amounts of money this year. A padma bridge can be built with that money.”
The discussion programme was presided over by the former Chief Whip Abdus Shahid and the programme was moderated by Nazrul Islam, Editor of newsnextbd.com. Among others, Advocate Tipu Sultan MP, Umme Razia Kajol MP were present at the programme.
