TIB explains PM fund issue
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Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on Wednesday clarified its position about its earlier claim about the ‘undistributed money’ deposited to prime minister’s aid fund after the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) rejected TIB’s report.
A TIB press release published on its website referred to a remark made by Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury who on 14 July 2013 had said in her speech during the parliament session that about Tk 127,67,33,349 had been deposited to the prime minister’s aid fund from both individuals and institutions for the Rana Plaza victims.
The press release quoted TIB executive director Iftekharuzzman as saying that Matia’s comment was reported in different media the next day (15 July 2014).
Earlier on Tuesday TIB published a report claiming that an amount of Tk 108 crore mobilised in the prime minister’s aid fund to distribute among Rana Plaza victims remains unused.
TIB assistant programme manager (research and policy) Nazmul Huda Mina revealed the findings of the study, titled ‘Initiatives taken to ensure good governance in RMG sector: Review on progress of last one year’, at a press conference at the TIB’s city office on Tuesday.
The government, however, ‘partially’ rejected TIB report.
State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque on Wednesday said they are partially trashing a report by Transparency International Bangladesh that said Tk 108 crore, out of Tk 127 crore, deposited to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund as aid for the Rana Plaza victims are yet to be disbursed even after around two years of the building collapse in Savar.
‘They said Tk 109 crore aid for Rana Plaza victims are now in Prime Minister’s Relief Fund which is not correct. There is no separate fund for Rana Plaza victims at the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund,’ he said.
He claimed that Tk 29.39 crore was given to the victims from the fund, not Tk 19 crore as claimed by TIB.
He said the fund is generally used to provide victims of various types of disasters with financial assistances.
TIB in its turn said that it did not talk about any special fund for Rana Plaza victims; rather, as the press release claims, it meant the regular PM aid fund.