Bangladesh Govt Cuts Office Hours, Outlines Austerity Measures To Tackle Energy Crisis

DHAKA, April 3 (Bernama-UNB) -- The Bangladeshi government has decided to reduce office hours and take a series of austerity measures to cope with the ongoing global energy crisis triggered by instability in West Asia.

According to United News of Bangladesh (UNB), the decisions were taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Thursday night. Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani announced the decisions at a briefing after the meeting.

Under the new arrangement, all government and private offices will remain open from 9:00am to 4:00pm from Sunday, instead of the existing schedule.

Banking hours will be from 9:00am to 3:00pm, while banks will close by 4:00pm.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani said the discussion mainly focused on how to tackle fuel and energy price volatility caused by disruptions in global supply chains due to the war in West Asia.

“All offices have reduced working hours by one hour. Both public and private offices will operate from 9:00am to 4:00pm,” he said.

As part of energy-saving measures, the Cabinet Secretary said all shops, markets and shopping malls will have to close by 6:00pm, although hotels, pharmacies, essential service outlets and kitchen markets will remain exempt.

He also said specific directives regarding educational institutions would be issued from Sunday, considering various factors.

The Cabinet Secretary said the government would implement austerity measures for the next three months to cut public expenditure.

“No new vehicles, watercraft, aircraft or computer equipment will be purchased during this period,” he said.

Ghani also said internal training programmes would be reduced by 50 per cent, while all foreign training funded by the government would remain suspended until further notice.

Expenditure on meetings and seminars will also be cut by 50 per cent, he added.

Ghani said government spending on fuel, electricity and gas will be reduced by 30 per cent, while unnecessary travel expenses will also be curtailed by 30 per cent.

Besides, he said decorative lighting at social events, including weddings, has been prohibited as part of the energy-saving drive.

The Cabinet Secretary said that efforts are also underway to increase fuel imports from alternative sources to ensure a stable supply. “Initiatives have already been taken to import fuel from Malaysia, Indonesia and Kazakhstan.”

Besides, he said the government has drawn up a plan to introduce electric buses for school-going students instead of private cars. “Educational institutions that take part in the initiative will be able to import buses duty-free. The private sector will also get this facility, although a 20 per cent duty will apply in commercial cases.”

However, Ghani said no used buses will be allowed—only new buses can be imported.

The Cabinet meeting began at around 8:45pm at the Cabinet Room of the Jatiya Sangsad complex and continued till about 11:30pm.

Cabinet meetings are usually held at the Secretariat on Thursdays, but the venue was shifted to the Parliament complex due to the ongoing session of Parliament.

-- BERNAMA-UNB