Stimulus is of no use to poor, says MK Alamgir

Former Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir has said the stimulus package offered by the government to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic failed to bring full benefits to the poor.

“However, it is important to keep in mind that if the stimulus can save small and medium enterprises, then it can be said that it has worked for the public interest,” he said.

He was speaking at a webinar on a book written by Professor Abul Barkat, the president of Bangladesh Economic Association on Saturday.

Since the coronavirus hit Bangladesh in March last year, the government announced 23 stimulus packages involving Tk 128,441 crore to help the businesses recover losses.

The cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises were among the worst-hit industries in the pandemic.

Alamgir said policymakers must think to reduce pervasive inequality. “Inequality must be eliminated through necessary legal and administrative reforms to eliminate all forms of inequality from society.”

At the event, analysts discussed Barkat’s book titled ‘Society, Economy, and State on the Big Screen: In Search of a Better Bangladesh from Virus Crisis’.