Garment owners demand action against corrupt officials
By UNB, Dhaka
Tue, 23 Jan 2014, 09:06:00
The New Nation, Bangladesh
Garment industry owners Tuesday demanded stern actions against the corrupt government officials who hardly work unless their palms greased.
They particularly mentioned the officials of Chittagong Seaport, customs and NBR, as they demand bride in every stage for moving their files forward.
The demand was made when a delegation of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association (BGMEA) met Finance and Commerce Advisor Dr AB Mirza Md Azizul Islam at his Finance Ministry office. BGMEA president SM Fazlul Haque led the delegation. The BGMEA leaders also placed 5-point demand, including bank soft loans for three months as a contingency measure to save their businesses that were hit hard during the last 7-8 months’ political standoff
After the meeting, the Finance Advisor told reporters that he would take some decisions to resolve the garment sector’s problems after holding talks with other relevant departments, including Finance and Commerce, NBR, Customs and Chittagong Port Authority. “We’ll meet them (BGMEA) again and inform them about government decisions within a week. The decisions will be made protecting the interests of all concerned…” he told the journalists. The BGMEA leaders said the garment sector has been facing serious financial constraints due to the political stalemate that the country experienced in the last 7-8 months.
Many garment factory owners had to shut down their production units while many have failed to disburse salaries of their workers, they said.
“We need banking support from the government to get out of the financial constraints, or else, it will be very difficult to survive,” said BGMEA president Fazlul Haque. Welcoming the present caretaker government and the state of emergency, he said the garment factory owners now feel very comfortable in doing their businesses.
“We don’t want to see any political movement in the country in the name of democracy… we want a free and fair election to be held in the country to hand over power to an elected government,” the BGMEA president said.
The other demands of the BGMEA include rehabilitation of sick garment units, extension of bonds in using bonded fabrics and issuance of new bonds within 15 days from the petition.
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