Spend money carefully

GBNEWS24DESK//

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday asked officials concerned to reduce spending, but not stop expenditure altogether, which would result in dire consequences.

Planning Minister MA Mannan briefed reporters after a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) held at the NEC conference room in the capital’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.

“If you stop all expenses, we will be destroyed. Don’t spend any money on fruitless matter,” the minister said, quoting Hasina, who chaired the Ecnec meeting.

State Minister for Planning Shamsul Alam said the PM asked all to remain cautious about expenditure and maintain austerity. She also urged all to ensure their participation in boosting the country’s production alongside motivating others to increase productivity, he said.

Asked whether the project proposal on buying the new EVMs was placed before the meeting, Mannan said the project was not on the agenda. “The prime minister did not want to know about it. We also did not want to learn anything because the project proposal is under process.”

“Right now, we cannot say yes or no regarding the proposal,” he added.

In reply to a question on what will happen if the project is not approved, Mannan said, “This is a national question. There are national leaders; there is an Election Commission, a constitutional body, and they will consider the matter.”

On January 10, Mannan said the Planning Commission would soon approve the EC’s proposal to purchase the EVMs.

According to the EC’s development project proposal, it needs Tk 8,711 crore for the purchase and management of two lakh new electronic voting machines. The proposal is now pending with the Planning Commission after it was sent by the EC in October last year.

In August that year, the EC decided that EVMs would be used in a maximum of 150 parliamentary constituencies in the next general election, slated for January 2024.