More transparency, budget implementation capacity underscored

To stop over expenses, waste, misuse, irregularities and embezzlement of allocated funds, enhancement of transparency and institutional capacity for implementation is a must to make an annual budget beneficial for the nation.
Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Executive Director Fahmida Khatun said this while speaking at a virtual seminar titled 'National Budget Review and Upcoming Budget' organized by the think tank on Monday.
She said unless structural reforms are being done there will be no benefit by allocating money. If the allocation is increased without tightening the loopholes, some budgetary amount will be wasted, some will be stolen and at the end of the day people will not be benefited.
Fahmida while responding a question in particular about health sector said on one hand the allocation of funds in the health sector is low, on the other hand, there is no capacity of the health ministry to use the funds properly.
She said 4 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) should be allocated to the social security sector.
Earlier CPD's research fellow Taufiqul Islam Khan presented the key note speech in which he said  in the upcoming budget, priority should be given to health, social security, agriculture and small and medium enterprises.
He said: "Everyone is saying about expansionary budget but CPD sees  that there is not much opportunity to impose new taxes. Our economy is under pressure. It would not be right for imposing new taxes or enhance the existing taxes."
He added, "If we move towards expansionary policy, we will definitely have to increase our resource mobilization expanding the tax net."
Elaborating on IMED (Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division)  data, Taufiqul Islam said, "According to IMED data, we have been able to spend only 49 per cent of ADP in the first 10 months of the current financial year." Of this, only 49.4 per cent of government allocation and 47.50 per cent of the foreign aid have been spent.
He said the most important sector is the health sector which has been in the spotlight for the last one-and-a-half year. There has been very little expenditure (31 per cent) in this sector as per allocation.
In this scenario if more budget is allocated it is likely to be misused or embezzled.
In the briefing, the private research institute also highlighted the prevailing volatile prices of rice, edible oil and sugar in the country as prices have been fluctuated in the international market.
However the authorities should take precaution to keep market stable in the country.
The CPD proposed for formation of a 'Commission on Agricultural Prices'. The research institute thinks that this will create professionalism for regular monitoring of the prices of agricultural products.
CPD fellow Professor Mostafizur Rahman, research director Khandaker Golam Moazzem and others also spoke at the virtual media briefing.
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