In view of the ongoing concern over the government’s taker on loans from internal banks, the prime minister’s policy and strategy adviser Zahed Ur Rahman said state debt is always used in the interest of the people and there is no scope for waste or embezzlement of the money.
He said this while replying to a question from reporters at a press conference at the Secretariat on Tuesday.
He said that it is not necessary to see the government’s debt as an unnecessary threat. Many countries in the world are running the economy by carrying more loans than their gross domestic product (GDP). Referring to Japan, he said the country is also effectively operating on the burden of several times the debt of GDP. Bangladesh has not yet reached that stage, so the idea of “goned to the red zone” is not correct.
Recognizing the fact that the debt pressure ultimately falls on the people, he said the main problem of the country is not only the loan, but also the misuse of a large part of the loan taken in the past. “We have taken many projects where the people have not received the expected results due to corruption and waste.”
He said the government must take a loan because no government in the world is fully managed without a loan. Pointing out the difference between individual and government budget management, he said the individual determines the expenditure on the basis of income, but the government plans to spend first and meet the income and deficit.
Referring to the reduction of subsidies in the energy sector, Zahed Ur Rahman said the government has to take some loans along with such policy measures. However, the goal is to keep the loan amount under control as much as possible. He warned that taking extra loans from the banking sector reduces the flow of money to the private sector and inflation increases if additional money is printed.
Finally, he assured that the government takes any loan and spends it on the development of the country and the welfare of the people. “If the government borrows, it will be used for the welfare of the people, there is no chance of the money being stolen.