Be patient, I will not tell you this at all. We all get impatient thinking when so much work will end. We will be impatient why not but we will work properly. I will show no sign of impatience in work.
On the occasion of the one month anniversary of the formation of the Interim government on Wednesday (September 11) at 7:30 in the evening, the Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus said to the nation.
Stating that the families of all the martyrs killed in the mass upsurge will be rehabilitated, he said, the government will bear the full cost of the treatment of all the injured student workers. A comprehensive list has been prepared under the leadership of the Ministry of Health for the long-term and expensive treatment of the injured and the care of the families of the martyrs. This list will be updated as new information is received.
To preserve the memory of the martyrs of the mass uprising, the government took the initiative to establish a foundation named 'July Genocide Smriti Foundation'. Now that foundation is made. This foundation is taking full responsibility of all the families of the martyrs and their families along with the best treatment of the injured. Dr. Yunus urged all the people of the country and Bangladeshis living abroad to donate to this foundation.
Stating that he is working day and night for the improvement of the law and order situation, he said that the brothers and sisters who were disrupting our work by laying siege every day in front of my office and secretariat offices to seek redressal for their pain of the last 16 years responded to my call from the siege. They have refrained, but elsewhere they have created disruptions to the movement with their programs. I promise not to forget your righteous plea. We are committed to righting all wrongs. We will try to solve all problems as much as possible within our responsibility. I again request you to refrain from disrupting your journey. Nation will be grateful to you.
The Chief Adviser said that workers in ready-made garments, medicine industry areas are constantly forcing to stop the operation of the industry to complain. The negative impact it will have on our economy is not at all desirable. Already, the economy we got after the revolution of the students and workers is a rapidly decaying economy without rules. The institutional structure is almost destroyed. Foreign exchange reserves have hit rock bottom. We are trying to breathe life into this economy. We are also getting response to our initiative. If our industrial plants are closed down, rendered ineffective at this time, the country's economy will be hit hard. That cannot be desired by anyone.
Commenting that the labor brothers and sisters have a lot of grief, he said, but in expressing that grief, it will not be right if your main livelihood is about to stop. It will not be right if the country's economy is destroyed. We will definitely find a solution to these problems by talking to both the owners and workers. You keep the factory open. Keep the wheels of the economy moving. Let the country's economy stand upright. We will do our best to find a permanent solution to your problem. Our request to the owners, please understand with the workers. Keep the factory running. Strengthen the poor health of the economy.
The head of the Interim government said that the pharmaceutical industry and the garment industry are the pride of the country. Through this, our labor brothers and sisters and their efficiency have impressed the world. Its success has now stalled. We want to take these two industries to their potential peak. There is no question of weakening. I want to identify where there are obstacles and problems in these two industries and remove the obstacles. We will gather foreign buyers and seek their cooperation so that these two industries of Bangladesh can become more reliable than other countries in the world. Everything is possible if we can make the labor-owner relationship a reliable, enjoyable one.
Stating that the Interim government has embarked on major reforms of the judiciary at the beginning of assuming office, he said, appointing the most qualified person as the Chief Justice has instilled new hope in the minds of the people. Appointment of Appellate Division Judge, appointment of Attorney General and many other important appointments have been completed.
The false and harassing cases filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Digital/Cyber Security Act is being withdrawn, said Dr. Yunus said that all the black laws existing in Bangladesh including cyber security law have been listed. Soon all these black laws will be repealed and amended where applicable. Assistance is being provided for the investigation and trial of the 5 widely discussed murders, including the murder of journalist Sagar-Rooney, on a priority basis and for settlement at the earliest.
The Chief Adviser said, "We recently signed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance." As a result, I pledged internationally to put an end to the lost culture established by dictatorship. We are also setting up a separate commission to investigate every case of disappearance during the last 15 years of fascist rule. To the families who have been waiting agonizingly for years to find their missing fathers, husbands, sons and brothers, we share your pain.
Aina Ghars have been closed. Along with that, the story of suffering and suffering of the missing siblings of the fascist Hasina government is coming out. He said.
He said, the future of the young generation we have a full eye on the education system to ensure that it shines. Already, the present flawed curriculum from class I to class XII has been changed. The work of revising the book is in final stage. This reform work will continue. The work of normalizing the education program by filling the higher administrative posts of the Universities is progressing at a fast pace. Measures have also been taken to stop the politics of occupation in the management committees of private educational institutions.
Addressing the public, the Vice-Chancellors of almost all Universities in the country resigned in the first month. It has created a huge vacuum in higher education. In the first month we started the process of appointing universally acceptable Vice-Chancellors and Pro- Vice-Chancellors in every University. As a result, an environment has been created to start work with new zeal in all public and private Universities.
Claiming that full freedom of press and expression has already been ensured, he said, "We have told everyone that you criticize us openly." We respect everyone's opinion. The Government is actively considering setting up a Media Commission so that the media can do their work smoothly without any hindrance. We have also taken initiatives to reorganize and reform commissions that can hold others, including the government, to account so that they are stronger and work for the public welfare.
Dr. Yunus said that he wants good relations with neighboring countries including India. Dr. Yunus said, however, that relationship should be based on fairness and equality. We have already started high-level bilateral cooperation talks with India on flood control. I have taken the initiative to revive the SAARC group of states with a view to enhancing regional cooperation in South Asia.
He said that Bangladesh should be known with respect to the world as a democratic country. The planning of the country should be centered on the people of the country, not on any leader or party.
The Chief Adviser said, "We have seen the implementation of unnecessary crores of money by the autocratic Hasina government, which was never meant for the people of the country, but involved ugly egos and large-scale theft." We have already started the process of screening all the ongoing and proposed development projects. Considering the stage of implementation of the project, cost savings and even cancellation of the remaining work will be considered if necessary. The people of the country will not be cheated anymore. We will give priority to projects that will create employment.
He said, we have taken the initiative to bring back the looted and smuggled money. An initiative has also been taken to form a banking commission to restore order in the financial sector. The Board of Directors of various banks has been reconstituted. There has been a big change in the banking sector in this one month. You must have noticed that. We have established rules and regulations in this sector. Much work remains to be done.
Commenting that the people of the country have been victims of inflation due to the release of new sixty thousand crores notes to loot by the fascist government, he said that inflation control is one of the main goals of the Interim government. The policy interest rate has been raised to 9 percent to control inflation. In order to protect the common people from price inflation, OMS, food friendly programs have been continued to provide daily necessities to the marginalized people at affordable prices. Tk 5,800 crore for import of rice and wheat, Tk 8,900 crore for domestic procurement and Tk 7,360 crore for three food subsidy programs have been earmarked in the current financial year to combat inflation. Actions to control inflation are being identified by meeting with various stakeholders.
Stating that activities have been taken to reduce operational and development costs to a reasonable extent, he further said that steps have been taken to ensure the supply of foreign exchange required for the import of fertilizers for the production of agricultural products. In addition to taking initiatives to ensure that genuine farmers get agricultural credit, the amount of agricultural credit has been increased.
Commenting that the exchange rate of foreign currency has been made market-based in order to keep the exchange rate of money against the US dollar stable, the Chief Adviser said that the unethical permission to whiten black money has been cancelled. Budgetary support has been sought from various development partners to increase foreign exchange reserves. An additional USD 3 billion has been requested from the International Monetary Fund, an additional USD 1 billion from the World Bank, and an additional USD 1 billion from JICA. The Ministry of Finance is in discussions with the Russian Federation regarding the payment of advances and outstanding balances for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant construction project.
He said that initiatives have been taken to utilize the USD 48 billion foreign aid in the pipeline. In the name of megaprojects, along with stopping looting, plans to increase allocations in health and education sectors have been adopted. In order to ease the pressure on foreign exchange reserves, there have been requests to lower interest rates and extend loan tenures on loans from Russia and China. Initiatives have been taken to deepen relations with all development partners. Instructions are provided for publishing the actual values or numbers of all economic indicators and statistics. Accurate data collection, estimation and analysis of GDP, inflation etc Instructions are given for publishing esimates.
Dr. Muhammad Yunus said that initiatives have been taken to resolve the discrepancy between the revenue data of the National Board of Revenue and the Finance Division. Instructions for calculation and disclosure of actual export earnings are given. Plans are being taken for the automation of the National Board of Revenue. The Securities Exchange Commission has been reconstituted to bring capital markets back to normalcy.
The Chief Adviser said that meetings have been held with businessmen, industrial owners and business organizations to maintain normal supply of essential commodities and various measures are being taken based on their opinions. By evaluating the existing stock and deficit and reviewing the future demand, besides increasing the local production, removing various complications at the import level, solving various problems of the transport system including ports and major destinations, necessary instructions and instructions have been given to all the relevant ministries, offices and departments. For this reason, meetings and discussions have been held with large companies producing oil, sugar, eggs and meat.
Necessary instructions have been given to NBR regarding the reduction of existing duty rates to further reduce the prices of some essential commodities like onion, potato. In the meantime, NBR has issued SRO by reducing import duty and withdrawing regulatory duty in case of onion, potato and some pesticides. One crore low-income families are being given certain commodities at reduced prices through TCB, such as rice 5 kg per family per month, soya bean oil 2 kg per month and lentils 2 kg per month. This will be continued in the coming days, he said.
According to public expectations after the government assumed responsibility, all negotiations, project selection and purchase processing activities under the law of increasing the rapid supply of electricity and energy from the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources have been temporarily suspended. Dr. Muhammad Yunus said that lakhs of money have been looted using this law in the last decade and a half. The Board of Directors of the companies has been restructured to bring greater transparency and accountability to the companies under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources. Initiatives have been taken to include student representatives who have studied engineering, geology and minerals and accounting. A committee consisting of experts has been constituted to ensure greater capacity, dynamism and accountability in this sector.
He said, in order to identify fake freedom fighters, especially those who were less than twelve and a half years of age during the liberation war, leave to appeal steps have been taken in the Supreme Court to cancel them from the list of freedom fighters. Necessary steps have been taken to recover the expropriated immovable property under the purview of Muktijodha Kalyan Trust.
Drafting of the Barishal, Rangpur and Mymensingh Development Authority Act has been taken up by the Ministry of Housing and Public Works. Initiatives have been taken to finalize the roadmap for the Purbachal New City project and the construction of satellite cities around Dhaka. Initiatives have been taken to cancel allotment of plots and flats given outside the rules, he said.
Dr. Muhammad Yunus expressed his determination to create the outline of democratic Bangladesh. Dr. Muhammad Yunus said, "So that we don't have to fall into the hands of a dictatorship, so that we can say we live in a democratic country, so that we can all claim that this country is ours - we are working towards that goal." No one should take the law into their own hands. If someone takes the law into his own hands and creates a chaotic environment in the society, we will definitely bring him under punishment. We are a nation of communal harmony. No one shall do any act which destroys religious harmony.
In the past, many candidates recommended by BPSC from 28th to 42nd BCS were denied recruitment only because they were not Awami ideologues. 259 people have been recruited since August 8. All kinds of initiatives have been taken to develop field administration in a people-friendly, corruption-free and accountable manner. Mandatory submission of asset declaration has been directed to government employees. And they have to do it every year, he said.
Starting the journey with a destroyed public administration Dr. Muhammad Yunus said, many of those who were employed in the highest positions of the ministries left their duties or could not work under the pressure of their colleagues. He was forced to resign. And it was our most difficult time to rebuild the public administration taking into account all those who were forced to resign during the 16 years of dictatorial rule or were forced to remain in the same position without responsibility. We have solved all the problems and set up a new public administration structure, which is the biggest achievement of our first month. I believe that this public administration can make the maximum contribution to fulfill the wishes of the people.
He said, although the office activities were started with very less manpower, the various proposals sent from various ministries and departments were decided at a fast speed and in compliance with all legal obligations. In the last one month, various ministries and divisions have taken decisions on 198 very important issues. 135 Additional Secretaries, 227 Joint Secretaries and 120 Deputy Secretaries of Public Administration have been promoted. Deputy Commissioners of 59 districts have been withdrawn and new 59 Deputy Commissioners have been appointed. Contractual appointment of 67 officers has been cancelled. 10 Joint Secretaries, 8 Additional Secretaries and 6 OSD Secretaries were done. 110 police officers including 80 DIGs, 30 Superintendents of Police of Bangladesh Police have been promoted. 1 DIG, 1 Additional DIG and 4 Superintendents of Police have been reinstated. A total of 297 officials including IGP, 10 Additional IGs, 88 DIGs, 21 Additional DIGs and 177 Superintendents of Police have been transferred.
Commenting that Ganobhavan was the main goal of the revolution of students, workers and masses, the Chief Adviser said that Ganobhavan was the focal point of dictatorship. This government has declared Ganobhaban as Revolution Museum out of respect for the revolution. There will be no further renovations to the Ganobhaban to permanently address the anger of the student body. It will be kept in the same position as it was standing in the face of students' anger. Many of the valuables that were taken away by the crowd were returned. Those who took it have returned it themselves. We thank them on behalf of the countrymen. Some other items were not found. I request those who have taken them to return these items. I will mention that these were taken away by the angry crowd, but after the victory they returned them again out of respect for the museum.
Noting that he has taken the initiative to build the new Bangladesh as an environment-friendly and bio-diverse country, he said, I have banned the use of plastic water bottles in my residence and the entire secretariat. Initiatives have already been taken to stop the use of polythene shopping bags in super shops. We have taken initiatives to stop the amount of river pollution that has happened in the last few decades.
We want reform. Muhammad Yunus said, the reform of a nation is not done only if the government is reformed. Bring innovation to your business if you are a businessman. Business groups bring reforms through their respective associations. Bring reforms in society. Revise the constitution of the association. If you are a worker, you reform in your case. If you are a political leader-activist, reform your field. Bring reforms in your organization if you are the head of the organization. I urge everyone to take this as an opportunity. Through this reform we want to start a new journey as a nation. We all want this journey to establish us as a respectable nation in the world.
Dr. Muhammad Yunus said, I have sat separately with several political parties in the past month. I exchanged views with them. They encouraged us. Students, workers expressed support for the cause of revolution. They assured full cooperation in the reform work. I have exchanged views with prominent editors of the country. They also assured full cooperation in the reform work. They have given valuable suggestions on various topics. Now it's our turn to move forward with everyone's advice. I have met with eminent businessmen. We explained the objectives of our government to them. They also agreed with our aim.
He said that the fascist government fell in Bangladesh in the face of the historic July uprising of student workers and the sacrifice of thousands of people. We have gained an unprecedented time and opportunity to implement the message and aspirations of this popular uprising. It has become necessary to complete some national reforms in order to prevent the recurrence of fascism or autocratic rule in Bangladesh and introduce a state system based on public ownership, welfare-oriented and dedicated to public interest. One of the central points of the reform idea is to establish a fair election system and good governance.
He also said, "We believe in people's right to vote and people's ownership, so the development of the electoral system has been given importance in our reforms." We think it is in no way acceptable to impose the tyranny and tyranny of the majority on the people in the name of elections or to keep all the power axed to one person or family or any group. We are thinking of reforming the Election Commission and other institutions related to elections to prevent these fears. As institutions related to the electoral system, reforming these four institutions of police administration, public administration, judicial administration, anti-corruption commission is essential for fair and free elections. I believe that the reform of these institutions will also contribute to the establishment of a public ownership based, accountable and welfare state system.
In addition, we feel the need for constitutional reforms to ensure the representation and interests of people from all walks of life and to reflect the message of the July People's Uprising.
Dr. Muhammad Yunus said, as an initial step to reform, we have decided to form six commissions initially. Considering the subject matter experience for conducting the work of these commissions, I have appointed six eminent citizens to manage the commissions. After that we will continue the process of formation of commissions on various issues.
He said that Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar will serve as the head of the Electoral System Reform Commission, Sarfraz Chowdhury will serve as the head of the Police Administration Reform Commission, Justice Shah Abu Naeem Mominur Rahman will serve as the head of the Judiciary Reform Commission, Dr. Iftekharuzzaman will head the Anti-Corruption Commission, Abdul Muyed Chowdhury as the head of the Public Administration Reform Commission and the head of the Constitution Reform Commission will head by Dr. Shahdeen Malik.
The names of other members of these commissions will be decided after discussion with the heads of the commissions. He also said that members of advisery councils, students, workers, representatives of people's movement, representatives of civil society and political parties will be present in the discussion and consultation meeting of the commissions.
He said, after being fully formed, the commission is expected to officially start its work from October 1 and we expect it to be completed within the next three months. Based on the report of the commission, the government will organize a consultation meeting with the major political parties at the next stage. At the final stage, the outline of reform ideas will be finalized on the basis of a three-to-seven-day long consultation meeting with student society, civil society, representatives of political parties and representatives of the government. It will also give an idea of how this outline will be implemented.
We believe that this event will make the whole nation strong and optimistic in the implementation of the message of the July People's Uprising and the unity of the urge to rebuild the state, he said.
The Chief Adviser said, we have a lot of work ahead of us. We all want to move towards the same goal. We want to create an opportunity structure to express the latent talent that is hidden in us, especially in our new generation, without hindrance, with the support of the state and the society. We all want to ensure equal rights to every member of our family, be it sweeper, student, teacher, of any religion. This is the main goal of our reforms. Let us quickly implement the goal of this revolution of students, workers and people.