“The headwinds of macroeconomic indicators have put further downward pressure on the economy despite the assertion of achieving growth of 8.13 percent in the half way mark of 2020,” said UO in its year-end report.

Explaining the reasons behind the macroeconomics down, the UO said investment is stagnant while unemployment and inequality are mounting, export earnings have dipped, revenue collection has shrunk, inflation is on the rise, and import has also dropped, depicting an economy with all signs of downturns, said a press release.  
 
It also cautions that if this menace cannot be stopped, the unwanted situation will further aggravate the country drastically.

Observing that there is mismatch between targeted and actual revenue collection which is basically driving the government to lessen public expenditure, the organisation said the government is borrowing money to bear the recurrent public expenditure from the banks which is creating liquidity crisis in the banking sector.

It also said private investment has not flourished rather stumbled due to capital crisis in the banking sector plagued by the ever-increasing default in the absence of prudent enforcement and compliance mechanisms, although a series of concessions were given to large defaulters.

Referring to the continuation of the deficit in balance of payments, the overall deficit in the balance of payments in July-October period stood US$ 229 million, which was US$ 444 million in the same period of the last fiscal, despite having the so-called good news of higher remittance inflows, the report says.

“The ongoing hardship of the families of expatriates in the midst of economic pressures is pushing them to send all of their income to the family. They’re sending more despite of being in debt, hardship or in misery,” adds the report.  

Besides, the number of overseas employments declined to 604,060 during January and November of the current fiscal year from 684,962 of the same period of 2018.

The UO also said despite the rise in remittance, the foreign exchange reserves stood at SU$ 32.43 billion during the July-October period of the current fiscal year and have not crossed the US4 33 billion mark since 2017.

“The rate of poverty reduction has declined, and it doesn’t reckon the story of high GDP growth of the country,” it said.

The research organisation also notes the dangers of mounting inequality amidst jobless growth and outflow of capital amidst institutional fragility.

Terming condition of environmental crisis “sacrificed beneath growth”, the UO states that the issue of environment is not brought to concern as the definition of development has been confined in the dungeon of visible infrastructural gestures.