Speakers at a discussion on Monday urged the government to stop the use of public funds in mega projects under the guise of development and to free the country from the burden of foreign loans.
They emphasized the need to involve the general public, especially young leaders, in the formulation of people-centric financial planning as part of the government’s financial planning and implementation.
The discussion meeting, styled “Thoughts of Young Leadership” was organised by Strengthening Public Financial Management Program to Enable Service Delivery (SPFMS), Finance Division, Ministry of Finance as part of the development of the Public Financial Management Reform Strategy 2025-2030.
The workshop took place at the Intercontinental Hotel, Dhaka, with participation from around 60 young leaders in support with the World Bank.
Dr. Mohammad Khairuzzaman Mojumder, Secretary, Finance Division presided over the meeting while Mohammad Saiful Islam, Secretary of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, and Md. Rezaul Makhsud Jahedi, Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports attended as the special guests.
Suraiya Jannat, Lead Governance Specialist and Task Team Leader at the World Bank in Dhaka, presented on the topic “Future Government: From Government of the Past to the Government of the Future.”
The young speakers, participating in the meeting, called for the inclusion of “pre-budget discussions” in the strategic documents for sustainable and people-friendly financial reforms.
They advised significant reforms in the conventional methods of tax collection and suggested, if necessary, to avoid the traditional year-end tax collection methods in favor of daily or weekly collection.
In his remarks, Dr. Khairuzzaman Mojumder stated that the Government Financial Management Reform Strategy 2025-2030 would be formulated in light of the hopes and aspirations of the younger generation.
Mohammad Saiful Islam emphasized that if financial reforms consider what the new generation wants and how they envision building the country, it would be possible to address various existing challenges in the financial sector.
The Finance Division has initiated the development of the Third Government Financial Management Reform Strategy 2025-2030 with support from the World Bank.
Global Affairs Canada and the European Union are providing financial assistance for this program. Previously, the government formulated and implemented two financial management reform strategies for the periods 2007-2012 and 2016-2021.
