Govt does not waste a single penny from reserves: PM
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| Govt does not waste a single penny from reserves: PM |
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the Awami League government never wastes a single penny from the reserve, but uses this money for the benefit of the country and the people.
Sheikh Hasina said these things in the speech given during the inauguration of the virtual Dhaka-Ashulia elevated expressway from Ganabhaban on Saturday morning. This 24 km long expressway will be built at a cost of Tk 17,553,400,000.
The Prime Minister said, 'Awami League government does not waste a single penny of this country. Every money is spent in the interest and welfare of the people of Bangladesh.
The Prime Minister also said that BNP leaders are always questioning the expenditure of reserve money and are trying to mislead the nation with false information. He said, 'No money is misused from the reserve money. BNP leaders always talk about the issue. Because, their leader Tariq Rahman has been sentenced to seven years in prison and fined 20 crore rupees in a money laundering case and he is now a fugitive.
Addressing the BNP, the Prime Minister said, 'I want to tell them that when the BNP was in power, the reserve was only 2.9 billion US dollars. And from 2001 to 2008 it increased to about 5 billion dollars. From there we were able to increase this reserve to about USD 48 billion.
Everything from communication, travel, and import was almost closed due to the Corona virus, said the Prime Minister. And whenever communications open up, we have to pay from the extra supply and reserves as we import, as well as spending on the global economic recession caused by the Russia-Ukraine war. Still, like Bangladesh, providing free vaccines and corona test system, which many developed countries of the world could not do.
The Prime Minister said that the prices of food products, transportation costs, fuel oil, edible oil, wheat, corn and other products that have to be imported have increased all over the world. Although Bangladesh produces rice, it has to import some due to various natural disasters.
Sheikh Hasina also said, 'Whatever we have spent, it is for the benefit of the people, for the welfare of the people. People have to buy food, medicine, for the welfare of the people. Fertilizer, fuel, electricity we have to buy, we buy with cash. Apart from that, we have purchased aircraft with our reserve money. As we are doing river dredging with our own money, we are also doing some investments.
He said that if his government had taken this money as a loan from the banks of other countries, then the money would have to be paid with interest. And if we give from our bank what we are giving from Sonali Bank, then that money with interest remains in the country's money and we are spending about 8 billion keeping that in mind. Some dollars from here have been given as loans to Sri Lanka's economic woes.
Sheikh Hasina also said in this context, "That's why no one has taken the money here, which they always fear, they say like that. So those who practice money laundering, they only know that money feels like they have to go with it all." He commented.
