Published: 12:52 AM, 29 June 2026
Revenue reforms essential to sustain development: Saki
State Minister for Planning Md Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki on Sunday stressed that strengthening revenue collection and modernizing public institutions are essential to sustaining Bangladesh's development, as he launched the Taka 3,287 crore Strengthening Institutions for Transparency and Accountability (CITA) project. Speaking as the chief guest at the inauguration ceremony at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel, the State Minister said that the five-year project would
help automate public services, improve coordination among government agencies through data-driven systems, and ensure development projects are completed on time and within budget, reports BSS. The initiative would support major reforms, including automation of the National Board of Revenue's tax administration, modernization of national
accounting and auditing systems, improvement of inflation and GDP measurement, strengthening project planning and monitoring, and upgrading the electronic government procurement (e-GP) system, he said.
Highlighting the country's fiscal challenges, Zonayed Saki noted that Bangladesh's budget-to-GDP ratio currently stands at only 13 percent, making stronger domestic resource mobilization imperative. "If five percent of GDP is allocated to health and another five percent to education, how will the remaining three percent finance all other development activities?" he said, emphasizing the need for comprehensive revenue reforms.
