How various macroeconomic indicators, such as GDP, national income and inflation, were calculated in the past had to be investigated as those had very weak material foundations, head of the White Paper Drafting Committee Debapriya Bhattacharya said today (17 September).
He said officials of the previous government could not release accurate data due to political pressure, but they can now do so without any fear of reprisal.
"They were helpless in the past, but can release all actual data now," the economist told reporters following a meeting with various organisations at the Nazia Salma conference room of the Planning Commission in the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital today (17 September).
"We will sit with the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics regarding the matter," added Debapriya.
Macroeconomic indicators were frequently shown to be healthy during the tenure of the AL-led government.
The Bangladesh Bank on 3 July said export figures for the first 10 months of the recently concluded fiscal year were inflated by approximately $10 billion due to multiple entries of export shipments by the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
This prompted discussion among economists and business leaders, who said such errors would mean the countries' policies and even estimates of economic indicators were flawed.
At the event today, Debapriya also said all original contract documents, including those for energy, will be scrutinised.
The meeting was attended by representatives of 24 organisations that produce, serve and evaluate government information, including the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), National Board of Revenue (NBR), Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA), Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC), Ministry of Agriculture.
Members of the white paper drafting committee Dr Mostafizur Rahman and Dr Celis Raihan and others were present.
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