Photo : Collected
Aiming to cut costs, the Finance Division has prohibited foreign travel for government officials.
However, from January to June, more than 600 officials from different ministries have traveled abroad, and many officials have received permission to travel.
Among them, 512 officials from the Energy Division visited India, Japan, China, USA, Thailand, and other countries at different times. Additionally, 180 more officials have received permission from the Energy Division to go abroad.
Some of the officials received permission to go abroad: 240 from the Energy Division, 132 from the Agriculture Ministry, 256 from the Health Services Division, 87 from the Health Division, 50 from the Finance Division, 80 from the Civil Aviation Authority, 35 from the Commerce Ministry, and 57 from the Information Ministry.
Additionally, 150 and 100 more officials from various ministries received permission.
Many officials have already taken leave for travel abroad, with leave durations ranging from 10, 20, 30, and 40 days to one year.
Government officials said they travel abroad using grant funds, not loans or other project funds.
Mahbub Hossain, Secretary of the Cabinet Division, told the Daily Messenger, “They don’t get money from loans or other projects. They are provided money from grants.”
Regarding the issue, the Finance Ministry has sent letters to all ministries and divisions, prohibiting travel abroad for all government officials.
According to the Energy Division, the outstanding bills amount to Tk 40,000 crore. Stakeholders have already begun refusing to supply fuel and electricity without payment of overdue bills.
The Bangladesh Independent Power Producers Association (BIPPA) recently wrote to State Minister for Power Nasrul Hamid, requesting payment of the outstanding bills; otherwise, they will be unable to supply power as needed.
BIPPA President Faisal Khan told the Daily Messenger, “The bill has to be paid on time as per the contract to avoid fines. However, they have about four months of unpaid bills with the PDB. This is hindering the import of furnace oil. Approximately Tk 40,000 crore of bills for various power plants are outstanding, with private plants accounting for about Tk 30,000 crore of the arrears.”
Moreover, the government canceled the purchase of LNG last month due to a fund and dollar crisis. The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) is facing a critical time as the supplier organizations may fail to pay the outstanding bills for power purchases due to the dollar crisis. Bangladesh Bank has already failed to supply adequate dollars, despite several meetings with the Power Division.
BPDB Chairman Engineer Md Mahbubur Rahman said, “Letters of Credit (LC) cannot be opened due to the dollar shortage. However, we are trying to keep things normal by paying bills to creditors. Due to the increase in gas bills, our debt burden has also increased.”
On November 9, the government banned foreign travel for all public employees until further notice, a development that comes amid the country's falling foreign exchange reserves.
Messenger/Fameema
