Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Saturday said Awami League will form district councils with elected representatives if it returns to power through the next general election. “District councils should be constituted with elected representatives. We’ll take initiatives in this regard if Awami League returns to power through the next polls,” he told a workshop. The Economic Relations Division (ERD) arranged the programme on the role of media in national department at NEC-2 conference room in the Planning Commission in the city. Muhith recalled that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1972 had announced to upgrade the then each Mohokuma (sub-division) to a district one. “He (Mujib) had also declared to form district councils with elected representatives, but unfortunately he couldn’t implement it.” About the World Bank’s allegation of corruption conspiracy in the Padma Bridge Project, the minister said the global lender still could not prove it. “The decision of the World Bank was wrong and unjustified. In my consideration, the investigation by the Bank won’t complete by 2015. We can’t wait for such a long time. That’s why we withdrew our request to the World Bank for funding the bridge project,” he told the function. Muhith thanked the ERD for arranging the workshop for media people, and hoped that the journalists will get an overall idea about the government’s development thoughts from it. Moderated by ERF immediate-past president Monowar Hossain, ERD secretary Abul Kalam Azad delivered the welcome speech in the workshop. Planning Commission members, senior officers of the commission and journalists from different print and electronic media took part in the workshop. Seven papers, including ‘Role of media in national department’, New development paradigm and planning dynamics of Bangladesh’, ‘External economic policy’, ‘Development agenda and development partners’, and ‘New development initiative towards renewable energy and energy savings: role of EDCOL” were presented at the workshop.
-UNB
