‘Democratisation of nat’l budget must for fair society’

There is no alternative to democratisation of the national budgetary process for a non-discriminatory society, said Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, former governor of the Bangladesh Bank.

Although the share of the budget supply mostly comes through indirect taxes, there is no reflection of public opinion and needs on the formulation of the national budget, he added.

Ensuring transparency and accountability of the budget as well as ensuring public participation in the formulation and implementation of the budget process will further advance the overall development of the country, the former governor further said.

He made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at the virtual grand finale of the Budget Olympiad 2020, jointly organised by the Democratic Budget Movement, Participatory Research Action Network-PRAN and ActionAid Bangladesh this morning on Monday morning.

The function was chaired by eminent economist Professor MM Akash, the convener of the Budget Olympiad Committee, reads a press release.

Dr Salehuddin Ahmed said that the national budget is not only to raise and spend government money, but also to bring the benefits of development to all.

However, in Bangladesh, it is not reflected in the implementation of the budget policy of Bangladesh.

“We need to focus not only on growth but also on establishing good governance, banishing corruption and overall socio-economic development of the people to ensure people's participation in the budget,” he added.

Kazi Maruful Islam, professor of the Department of Development Studies at Dhaka University, said it is very important to build the practice of questioning among the youth.

“Budget Olympiad is successful in this regard and these young advocates would continue to contribute ensuring accountability by questioning how much of the country's budget is being allocated and spent fairly,” he added.

Asgar Ali Sabri, directorof ActionAid Bangladesh, expressed hope that the Budget Olympiad and its participants would play a role in empowering those who have the ability to speak and upholding the aim of Democratic Budget Movement.

In his speech as chair, Professor MM Akash said that the people have the right to know the money they are giving to the government is being spent properly and also to express their views.

“Decentralization of the budget is necessary to ensure a participatory budget. The discussion and participation of the youth can play a leading role in replacing these ideas and demands,” he explained.

With the aim of inspiring budget advocates across the country, Democratic Budget Movement- DBM has been organizing Budget Olympiad since 2017.

This year around 4,000 students from more than a hundred educational institutions of the country participated in various rounds of the competition this year.

Golam Kibria Limon of Rajshahi University became the champion in Budget Olympiad 2020. The first and second runners up were Arifujjaman Uzzal from Khulna University and Shamsuzzaman Raju from Chittagong University respectively.