Salary hike for public servants will reduce corruption, finance minister hopes

Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury believes that increasing the salaries of public servants will lead to a reduction in corruption.

The Finance Minister expressed this optimism today, Friday, during a post-budget press conference held at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital.

When asked whether raising public sector salaries would genuinely curb corruption, the minister responded, “It ought to. When financial hardship exists, there is a natural tendency to resort to corruption. A new pay scale has not been implemented for 11 years, despite the rising costs of essential commodities. These issues must be addressed, mustn’t they? It is expected that higher wages will reduce corruption.”

“Our slogan for this budget is ‘The Democratisation of the Economy’. Previously, the economy served only a select few groups. From that standpoint, we intend to bring the economy to the doorsteps of the common people. Consequently, the budget has been formulated with every individual in mind; no one is excluded from its scope,” the finance minister stated.

The press conference was attended by the Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud; Health Minister, Shakhawat Hossain Bokul; Information and Broadcasting Minister, Zahir Uddin Swapan; Fisheries and Agriculture Minister, Aminur Rashid; Education Minister, Ehsanul Huq Milan; Minister of State for Planning, Zonaed Saki; Spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office and Advisor to several ministries, Mahdi Amin; Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Investment and Capital Markets, Tanvir Ghani; Cabinet Secretary, Nasimul Ghani; Governor of Bangladesh Bank, Md. Mostaqur Rahman; Finance Secretary, Khairuzzaman Mozumder; and the Chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Abdur Rahman Khan, among others.

The finance minister expressed optimism regarding the creation of employment opportunities through the budget for the upcoming (2026-27) financial year.

Emphasising the focus on investment and skills development, he noted that a skilled worker would find it easier to secure employment both domestically and abroad. To this end, various skills development projects are being initiated.

The minister remarked that controlling inflation is not an objective to be achieved by force through the police, RAB, or government officials.

“This is an entirely flawed misconception. Inflation must be controlled through appropriate policies and management,” he stated.

Addressing the journalists, the finance minister said, “As you know, inflation is not an issue that develops over three months; it has been rising for several years. It has remained above 9 per cent for the past three months. This is driven by the impact of conflicts in the Middle East and instability in the global market.”

Acknowledging that plundering and money laundering have created capital shortfalls in banks, the finance minister added, “As a result, the cost of funds has risen significantly, which has had a direct negative impact on inflation. Furthermore, due to price hikes in the global market, the cost of all imported goods has risen domestically. We can do very little about inflation driven by external global factors. However, we must strive to reduce the cost of doing business internally.”

The finance minister concluded, “Bangladesh sits at the very bottom of the global rankings for the Ease of Doing Business index. This indicates that our business costs are exceptionally high. Securing a permit or setting up a company takes anywhere from six months to a year. One must navigate numerous offices, which wastes time and incurs expenses at various stages. Deregulation is currently underway to simplify this process.”