Allocation for underprivileged people often fails to reach them: Planning minister
Despite efforts made by members of the parliament, the government's allocation often fails to reach the country's underprivileged people, said Planning Minister MA Mannan.
Speaking at a dialogue titled "How can voices of disadvantaged people be reflected in the national budget during the IMF period", the minister emphasised how the underprivileged were deprived.
At the event organised by the research organisation Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and its citizen platform in the capital's Bangabandhu International Conference Centre on Monday (15 May), Mannan said, "I personally believe that the poor are deprived. I take government goods, and I see who gets them. Try as I might, I can't deliver those in the right place."
He added that this was his personal opinion as a member of parliament and not as a minister.
"Bangladesh is not dependent on the International Monetary Fund [IMF]. The budget is entirely the government's own plan. The IMF is merely a side-actor," he said.
The minister also highlighted inflation as the biggest challenge at the moment, though he noted that it had slightly decreased in the last month.