DHAKA, Aug 10, 2024 (BSS) - Adviser to the Ministries of Finance and Planning of the newly formed interim government Dr Salehuddin Ahmed today said that the new government would try to deliver its best to improve the lives and livelihoods of the people.

"We want to establish an equal and just-based society and country and our aim is to ensure increasing peoples' income alongside reducing inflation. We'll try our best regarding the lives and livelihoods of our people," he said while talking to reporters after assuming office at the Ministry of Finance at Bangladesh Secretariat.

Answering to a question on the formation of the banking commission, he said the priority of the government is to restore trust of common people in the banks alongside resuming the operations of the central bank fully. "Then we'll work on bringing reforms," he added.

Dr Salehuddin, also the former central bank governor, said it would not take much time to resume the basic operations of the banking sector. Already the operations are there, but there were some deviations at the middle of the operations...the operations were not at all derailed, rather slowed down a little bit. We'll enhance the pace," he said.

Regarding the general point to point inflation which has been affecting the lives and livelihoods of the people over the years due to various reasons, including the global economic instability, he said apart from some macroeconomic challenges, there were also some flaws in the strategies and policies of development as the marginal people were not getting the real benefits of development.

He said although growth was there in various sectors, it was not reaching the targeted beneficiaries.

When asked about the submission of resignation letter by Abdur Rouf Talukder as the central bank governor yesterday (Friday), Dr Salehuddin said he would not take decision solely in this regard right at the moment since it is a sensitive matter.

He alleged that although the rules and norms of the central bank are of international standard, it was not followed always by the concerned authorities.

He said they would be strict enough to restore the discipline in the operations of the central bank and in the banking sector.

Regarding the allegations of siphoning off money abroad, he said they are very much aware of it while it requires necessary information to deal with the matter through a process. "But, we'll definitely act on it," he added.

Asked about the possible steps to deal with the growing trend of Non-Performing Loans (NPLs), the adviser said that the interim government is sincere enough to deal with this matter.

Since the interim government has taken charge at a critical juncture of the nation following the recent massive popular movement by the student-led common people centering the quota reform issue, he said, their immediate concerns are to restore the law and order situation. "If we can't fix it, then our pace of operations will slow down," he said.

He said restoring law and order situation not only means bringing discipline on the roads and highways, but also to resume operations at banks and ports in full swing.

"But, definitely we'll try to address the persisting challenges in the macro economy including inflation. Immediately our main focus is that if the pace of economy is slowed down for some reasons, then we can restart it like a vehicle engine. But, if it comes to a full halt, then it would take much time to start it again which will also consume much energy. We'll try to expedite the pace through motivating all concerned," he added.

The finance adviser said it is a big advantage of the country that it has endless vigor of general people although there were some mismatches in the leadership and management of some people. "We'll have to immediately address the challenges and thus move forward so that we can create a smooth path for those who would come to the leadership in future."

Seeking wholehearted support from all concerned, including the media, Dr Salehuddin also welcomed proactive suggestions from all concerned stakeholders including from the media.