United News of Bangladesh

The government has introduced sweeping austerity measures, including suspension of interest-free car loans for public officials and a 30% cut in fuel consumption for official vehicles, in an effort to rein in public expenditure amid growing economic pressure. The Cabinet Division issued a notification recently confirming that the measures will remain in force until further notice. The decision follows a Cabinet meeting held on April 2, with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in the chair. As part of the measures, interest-free loans for purchasing vehicles by public servants will remain suspended. Under the existing policy, officials with the rank of deputy secretary and above are entitled to interest-free loans of up to Tk 30 lakh to purchase vehicles. They also receive a monthly allowance of Tk 50,000 for maintenance and driver salary, along with an annual depreciation benefit of 10%. At the same, all government-funded foreign training programmes were also kept on hold. Besides, domestic training-related costs were cut by 50%, hospitality expenses for meetings and seminars by 50%, and seminar and conference expenses by 20%. Travel expenses were also reduced by 30%. As part of cost-cutting efforts, the government cut fuel consumption by 30% for official vehicles on a monthly basis, while the consumption of energy – electricity and gas – in government offices was reduced by the same margin. The government also suspended all purchases of vehicles, vessels, aircraft and computers in the public sector. Furthermore, the expenditure on beautification of residential buildings was slashed by 20% and non-residential buildings by 50%. The land acquisition will remain suspended for the time being.