Despite the country's success in reducing poverty by 10 per cent in last 10 years, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said on Thursday the poverty will still remain a major challenge to turn Bangladesh into a wealthy nation.
He stressed the need for maintaining the poverty reduction rate, 1.0 per cent per year, to become a rich nation and, at the same time, urged all to keep Sheikh Hasina in power so that the pace of poverty reduction does not get slower.
"The main challenge is you have to reduce poverty. If you can reduce poverty, growth will automatically happen," he told journalists, in response to a question at his secretariat office.
The minister, who stepped into 85 years on Thursday, said the country showed tremendous success in reducing poverty during the last 10 years and poverty would become a history if the present government again comes to power.
His cabinet colleagues, ministry officials, media personalities and civil society members congratulated him on the occasion at his secretariat office.
"We have eliminated 10 per cent of the poor out of the poverty level. This is a big achievement. Ten per cent in 10 years means 1.0 per cent in one year. It's a high performance," said Mr Muhith, urging all to keep her (Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina) in power to keep the momentum (poverty reduction).
"If another party or person takes office, the pace will become slow," he said. In that case, he added, the poverty will not be eliminated totally by 2024 and would require some more years.
The minister said the achievement in poverty reduction was an outcome of a continuous regime. "Otherwise it may have taken 12 years instead of 10 years."
Replying to another question on rising inequality, he insisted that a particular gap will definitely persist among the rich and poor. "It is true that inequality is rising. But you should accept a certain amount of it," he said, adding that various other measures have to be taken to reduce the inequality.
The minister claimed that the social safety net programme in Bangladesh would be pretty strong. According to him, Bangladesh's annual budget is 16 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product) and 3.0 per cent of that is being spent on social security.
"Proportionately it's very high," he said. "We are trying to help those who are in real difficulties."
About the state of good governance, Mr Muhith said: "You see after a certain level, all improvements come out of good governance. It's my theory."
On the ease of doing business and Bangladesh's falling by one notch in the index, he said, "We are aware of the problem that starting business here takes a lot of time."
He said the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) is working on how 'one stop service' could be given to the entrepreneurs more efficiently.
Regarding the latest condition of constructing 142-storied 'Iconic Tower' in Purbachal area, the minister said the move has become stalled due to some difficulties.
He said that a Bangladeshi company namely 'Sikder Group', having no experience in constructing building over three storied buildings, was lobbying to get the contract, creating the problem.
syful-islam@outlook.com