Opposition lawmakers sceptical about GDP growth target 

Opposition lawmakers have criticised the new budget for setting a high GDP growth target, and said they are sceptical about meeting that target.

"The GDP target seems to be exaggerated as usual. When the world economy is in turmoil, imports have to be reduced while investment will not increase. How will this goal be achieved?" asked Jatiya Party lawmaker Masud Uddin Chowdhury while participating in the general discussion on the FY-23 budget on Monday.

"Besides, big revenue targets are set every year but they are not achieved. It will not happen this year either," he said.

"The finance minister has also promised to keep inflation at 5.6%, but the government has not taken any firm steps to keep prices of essential commodities stable. There is no direction in the budget to bring inflation under control," he added.

He went on to say that there are a lot of uncertainties in the proposed budget.

"The private sector will suffer from inflationary pressures and the government's reliance on internal banking. There are doubts about the revenue collection target. Achieving GDP growth is doubtful. The allocation of subsidies is also unclear," said Masud Uddin.

Jatiya Party lawmaker Rana Mohammad Sohail demanded an increase in taxes on tobacco to increase government revenue and reduce the profits of tobacco companies.

"But the world is still struggling to cope in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war. The current situation of the global economy suggests country's garment exports will be affected. Pressure on foreign exchange will also increase. Remittances will also decrease," he said.

Rana Mohammad also demanded increased allocation for the expatriate welfare ministry to make it stronger.

Abdul Mannan, a lawmaker of Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh, said he was disappointed with the 50% implementation of ADP in the last 10 months of the last fiscal year.

"The quality of development projects was not ensured due to hasty spending in the last two months," Mannan added.

He also criticised the Ministry of Health, saying that the picture of implementation of ADP in this ministry is the worst.

Regarding the proposed budget for FY 2022-23, he said, "I am sceptical about the full implementation of this budget with the target of 7.5% GDP and 5.6% inflation in this fragile global situation."