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The cabinet has adopted a series of strict and comprehensive decisions aimed at reducing government expenditure. These decisions were made during the fourth cabinet meeting held on Thursday, April 2, presided over by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
The Cabinet Division elaborated on the meeting’s decisions during a press conference held on Friday, April 3, at noon.
Previously, Deputy Secretaries and higher-ranking officials were able to purchase cars by taking loans of up to BDT 30 lakh under the ‘Interest-Free Loan and Vehicle Service Monetization Policy for Designated Government Officials, 2020’. According to the new directive, this facility will be completely suspended until further notice.
In addition to the general loan facility, officials received a monthly allowance of BDT 50,000 for car maintenance and driver’s salary under the policy. There was also a 10% annual depreciation benefit on vehicles. Cabinet sources indicated that this facility has been discontinued due to its significant contribution to the government budget.
It was announced at the press conference that government-funded foreign training has been temporarily suspended, and domestic training expenditure will be reduced by 50%. Significant cuts have also been introduced for meeting and seminar expenses—hospitality costs will be cut by 50%, seminar and conference costs by 20%, and government officials’ travel expenses by 30%.
It was further stated that fuel expenses for government vehicles will be reduced by 30%, and the monthly fuel allocation for vehicles used by the Prime Minister, ministers, and state ministers will also be cut by 30%.
The cabinet’s decision also includes a complete 100% halt on the purchase of new vehicles, watercraft, aircraft, and computers in the public sector. Fuel, electricity, and gas consumption in government offices and buildings will be reduced by 30%, beautification expenses for residential buildings by 20%, and non-residential building expenses by 50%.
In the current situation, land acquisition activities have also been temporarily suspended completely. No new land will be acquired except for urgent necessities.
These measures have been taken with the aim of reducing government expenditure and maintaining economic stability.