Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Saturday said the Awami League would form district councils with elected representatives if reelected, reports UNB.
“District councils should be constituted with elected representatives. We’ll take initiative in this regard if the Awami League returns to power through the next polls,” he told a workshop.
The Economic Relations Division (ERD) arranged a programme on the role of media in the national department at the NEC-2 conference room inthe Planning Commission in the city.
Muhith recalled that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1972 had announced upgrading each subdivision (mohokuma) to a district. “Mujib had also declared the forming of district councils with elected representatives, but unfortunately he couldn’t implement it.”
About the World Bank’s allegation of corruption conspiracy in the Padma Bridge Project, the minister said the global lender could not prove it.
“The decision of the World Bank was wrong and unjustified. In my consideration, the investigation by the bank won’t be completed by 2015. We can’t wait for such a long time. That’s why we withdrew our request to the World Bank for funding for the bridge project,” he told the function.
Muhith thanked the ERD for arranging the workshop for media people, and hoped that it would give journalists an overall idea about the government’s development thoughts.
Moderated by ERF’s immediate-past president Monowar Hossain, ERD secretary Abul Kalam Azad delivered the welcome speech in the workshop.
Planning Commission members, senior officers of the commission and journalists from different print and electronic media organisations took part in the workshop.
Seven papers were presented at the workshop including: “Role of media in national department”, “New development paradigm and planning dynamics of Bangladesh”, “External economic policy”, “Development agenda and development partners” and “New development initiative towards renewable energy and energy savings: Role of EDCOL.”
