Ecnec approves project to prevent intrusion from Myanmar

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The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) today approved a project for improving security along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border in Cox’s Bazar and prevent intrusion from Myanmar.

The project titled “Rehabilitation of Polders (67/A, 67, 67/B and 68) along Naf River at Ukhia and Teknaf upazilas for improving the security on Bangladesh-Myanmar border in Cox’s Bazar” will be implemented at an estimated cost of Tk 141.65 crore by June 2020.

The approval came from the regular Ecnec meeting, held at the NEC Conference Room, with Ecnec Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said the entire cost of the project will come from the national exchequer.

He said controlling flood and improving water extraction system in the project area are also the main goals of the project.

The minister said there are a 47.60km flood control dam and 46 water extraction infrastructures under polders 67/A, 67, 67/B and 68 built by Bangladesh Water Development Board along the right bank of the Naf River.

The flood control dam and water extraction infrastructures were damaged by natural disasters, including cyclone, flood and excessive rain, in 1991, 2007, 2008 and 2010.

“Border Guard Bangladesh has been using the flood control embankment to resist the influx of Rohingya. It has become difficult for BGB members to continue their border patrolling works as the dam remain damaged,” he said.

The project was taken following the proposal of a technical committee formed in this regard by Bangladesh Water Development Board formed in 2015, he added. Besides, the 16th Ecnec meeting of the current fiscal year also cleared 13 other projects, including Implementation of Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act 2012 (VAT Online) (2nd revised) Project. Mustafa Kamal said, “A total of 14 projects were approved at the meeting today involving an overall estimated cost of Tk 6,228.49 crore.”

Of the estimated cost, Tk 5,421.40 crore will come from the national exchequer, while Tk 65.81 crore from the own funds of the organisations concerned and Tk 741.28 crore as project assistance, he said.

Of the 14 projects, nine are new, while five projects are revised ones.

saudis building $500b mega-city

DUBAI: The International Monetary Fund has endorsed an ambitious Saudi Arabian plan to build a $500-billion business and industrial zone extending into Jordan and Egypt, saying the project could benefit the whole region. Jihad Azour, head of the IMF’s Middle East department, said Riyadh would need to balance the huge cost of the zone and other economic projects with its drive to cut a big state budget deficit caused by low oil prices, reports The Business Standard.
But the plan to develop the zone, known as NEOM, could stimulate trade and allow the Middle East to capitalise on its location as a bridge between Asia and Europe, Azour said in an interview. “It is a signal that greater regional cooperation is back on the table,” he said. “We see value and necessity in regional cooperation.” The NEOM scheme, unveiled by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at an international conference in Riyadh last week, would develop industries such as energy and water, biotechnology, food, advanced manufacturing and entertainment in a 26,500-sq-km (10,230-sq-mile) zone with its own laws and judicial system. The project has been welcomed by Jordanian officials but so far there has been little public response from the Egyptian government, a diplomatic ally of Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh has indicated that a great deal of the massive value of the region will be borne by the Saudi government, but a large, even though undisclosed, portion would come from home and international non-public investors. Azour said fundamental private quarter participation would be vital for NEOM’s success, with the Saudi authorities supplying land and rules rather than making an attempt to be intently concerned in most funding decisions.
Governments in the vicinity are beginning to seem outwards again after having spent the past 5 or six years targeted on coping with political instability and a plunge in oil prices, he added. “Authorities in a range of international locations are now reassessing more and greater the want to do reforms and initiatives to grow faster and to address the difficulty of job creation.” NEOM could match in with two different international monetary schemes, Azour said: the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing’s power to win change and investment deals alongside routes linking China to Europe, and the G20 Compact with Africa that targets to promote non-public funding throughout the continent.

Business leaders informed the Anti-Corruption Commission on Wednesday that they were compelled to bribe government officials as ‘speed money’ to have their work done.
They raised the allegation while taking part in a discussion titled ‘Ensuring transparent and accountable public service for investment and business friendly environment in Bangladesh’ at the ACC head office.
Bangladesh Investment Development Authority and ACC jointly organised the programme.
Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry director Hasina Newaaz said that the businessmen were facing obstacles in various steps and ‘speed money’ is a part of these problems.
She said that ‘speed money’ was a common term in the business community as without paying it, investors often face little to no cooperation from government officials.

Speed money’ is a must to get work done

In her intervention, the ACC chairman Iqbal Mahmood said that the ACC recommended the government to introduce provision of compensation by the officials responsible if investors face losses due to negligence from government officials. ‘We did not want to recognise “speed money”,’ he said adding that there was no way to take any additional facility from service-seekers.
He also asked the businessmen to give VAT and tax properly, otherwise their income would be attributed as unearned income and it would be recovered by the concerned authority as illegal wealth.
He said there was allegation against the businessmen for being involved in irregularities through creation of back-to-back letter of credits, over invoicing and under invoicing.
Agreeing with ACC chairman, Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Syed Moazzam Hossain said that they were receiving complaints that irregularities through under invoicing and over invoicing was rampant.

He recommended the ACC chairman to look for the quantity of bureaucrats who have twin citizenship.
The enterprise leaders also advised the ACC chairman to make an settlement between business neighborhood establishments and ACC in a bid to curb corruption.
BIDA chairman Kazi M Aminul Islam said that his company needs to company Bangladesh for moral commercial enterprise and funding and this technique would grow to be simpler if the country will become ‘corruption-free’.
Among others, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry director Selim Akhter Khan, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry secretary popular Farooq Ahmed, ACC secretary M Shamsul Arefin and director usual M Zafar Iqbal spoke at the programme.

 

Every corrupt will be brought to book

The Anti-Corruption Commission will bring to book every people who are involved in banking scams as part of the move to create a business-friendly environment in Bangladesh, its Chairman Iqbal Mahmood said yesterday.

“We have nothing to do with bank loans. But we want you [businesspeople] not to submit any false bank guarantee during taking loans,” he said. “Banks, be it private or state-owned, deal with public money. We will take action as soon as we receive complaints about any banking frauds.”

Mahmood also assured that the ACC will not harass any businessmen who maintain minimum ethical standards. He spoke while addressing a discussion on “Ensuring transparent and accountable public services for investment- and business-friendly environment in Bangladesh”. The ACC and the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) jointly organised the event at the commission’s Segunbagicha headquarters.

According to Bangladesh Bank data, the complete written-off loans between January 2003 and June 2017 stood at Tk 45,527 crore. State-owned banks have written-off Tk 22,435 crore in loans and personal banks Tk 21,674 crore as of June closing year. Two state-run specialised banks—Bangladesh Krishi Bank and Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank—have written-off Tk 555 crore and foreign industrial banks Tk 863 crore.

At the discussion, Hasina Newaaz, a director of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said companies have to supply bribes to the authorities officers to ensure security for their export and import activities.

“Corruption starts offevolved from government offices. We function [business] in an surroundings the place we are compelled to get worried in corruption,” said Farooq Ahmed, secretary customary of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka. Ahmed stated his chamber can work together with the ACC to curb corruption.

The ACC chairman said agencies need to do ethical business. “You have to observe the system. We will now not receive any pace cash to help you do any wrongdoing.” He requested businessmen to inform the ACC each time any authorities authentic seeks bribe.

He also requested businesses to ensure that their members pay terrific quantity of tax and VAT on time.

Kazi M Aminul Islam, executive chairman of the BIDA; Syed Moazzam Hossain, president of the Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Salim Akhter Khan, a director of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also spoke.