The Sammilita Parishad panel vying in the BGMEA election for the term of 2021-23 vowed to turn the challenges surfaced due to the Covid-19 pandemic into opportunities.
“Every challenge creates an opportunity. The covid-19 pandemic has affected the global business landscape as a whole,” Faruque Hassan, who is leading the Sammilita Parishad panel, told The Financial Express in an interview.
So, if elected, his panel would implement the 81-point election manifesto that was formulated with the industry experts’ opinions and considering the industry’s insights and priorities, said Mr Hassan, also a former vice president of the BGMEA (Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association) and managing director of Giant Group.
The RMG sector will need a combination of governmental support to reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks, and an inter-ministerial task force to deal with the issues arising from LDC (least developed country) graduation, he said terming these ‘the biggest coming priority of the sector’.
Terming the current wave of Covid-19 ‘a short term issue’, he said that the immediate assistance to deal with this issue has to be in conjunction with the government.
He emphasised providing capital liquidity support to the RMG manufacturers through the banking system, and if elected they will negotiate with the central bank and relevant government ministries to mitigate the cash crisis.
To make factories stay afloat in this crisis and avoid closures, he said that if elected his first 100-day goal will be to get as much relief as possible for the entire Industry for keeping the production wheel moving and turning this crisis into an opportunity.
Sammilita Parishad’s 81-point manifesto includes diversifying both markets and products, setting a roadmap to brighten the image of the industry and taking measures for continuity of duty-free access to European markets after LDC graduation.
Munni_fe@yahoo.com