‘Can this budget be implemented?’ Rumeen raises revenue, debt concerns

Independent MP Rumeen Farhana has raised concerns over revenue targets, rising debt dependence, a weak investment climate, a fragile banking sector and low allocations for education and health in the proposed 2026-27 budget.

“Although the budget totals Tk 9.38 lakh crore, serious questions remain over whether it can be implemented,” she said during a discussion on the proposed budget in parliament today.

At the outset of her speech, she thanked the finance minister for reducing source tax on essential and agricultural products.

Rumeen pointed out that the budget sets a revenue target of Tk 6.95 lakh crore, of which the National Board of Revenue (NBR) is expected to collect over Tk 6.04 lakh crore.

However, she noted that until April of the current fiscal year, the NBR had managed just over Tk 3.26 lakh crore.

“If an institution cannot collect Tk 3.26 lakh crore in ten months, how realistic is it to expect over Tk 6 lakh crore in a year?” she asked.

She warned that failure to meet revenue targets would widen the fiscal deficit, compelling the government to borrow more from domestic banks and thereby squeezing credit flow to the private sector.

On investment, the Brahmanbaria-2 MP said Bangladesh was experiencing unprecedented stagnation.

“Energy shortages, financial sector weaknesses, high inflation, and economic uncertainty are all obstructing investment,” she said.

She added that although the government aimed to transition from a debt-driven to an investment-driven economy, the conditions for investment remained absent due to gas and power shortages, bureaucratic hurdles, weak infrastructure, high interest rates and financing constraints.

“Without investment, new jobs cannot be created. That is why Bangladesh’s growth is often called ‘jobless growth,’” she said.

“Even if we set investment aside, how will banks provide loans, and from where? Standing in this parliament of loan defaulters, I must say that the total amount of non-performing loans in Bangladesh is Tk 6 lakh 44 thousand crore,” she said.

She added that if written-off, rescheduled loans and amounts tied up in court cases, pending and not yet recorded, were included, the figure would rise to Tk 11 lakh crore, or 59.73 percent of total loans.

“Therefore, even if they want to, banks will not be able to provide much support to the government,” she said.