‘Budget lacks policies for creating jobs’

Democratic Budget Movement (DBM) said the proposed budget for the FY2018-19 has failed to announce specific policies regarding creating new employment opportunities.

“The country is experiencing a tremendous unemployment rate, and the proposed national budget lacks directives to create more jobs in the country,” said DBM Research Secretary Monwar Mostafa while presenting a post-budget reaction paper at a budget analysis program jointly organized by the DBM and Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) at ERF conference hall on Sunday.

“More than 20 million people are currently unemployed in Bangladesh,” said Monwar. “Without skilled manpower, our country will face vast crises in the future. Many skilled candidates are going abroad unable to secure jobs.”

He further observed that government investment in education and health sectors is hardly satisfactory. “The proposed budget, allocated only 11% to the education sector when it was 12.6% in the existing budget.”

“More investment is needed in these two sectors,” he said. “Firstly, it is needed for quality education and skill development activities, and secondly, it is needed to develop the health sector.”

“Government accounts show only 4.2% as unemployed, among which 10.6% are the youth,” he said. However, 31.6% of the youth population is engaged in labour activities in the country. That means 79.6% of them are unemployed, among which 63.7% are from secondary and higher secondary education levels and 13.4% have completed their graduation.

“How will you create employment opportunities with the proposed investment? Compared to 2016, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) decreased by 7.7%. In the last five years, 22.6% private investments did not follow through.

Other speakers at the program were: DBM General Secretary AR Aman, ERF President Saiful Islam Dilal, ERF Acting Secretary Salah Uddin Bablu, Health Right Movement President Dr Rashed-E-Mahbub, CEO of Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) Ferdaus Ara Begum, Dhaka University Economics department teacher MM Akash, DBM President Dr Pratima Pal Mazumdar, and GTV chief reporter Razu Ahmed.