A document released by the army chief said the caretaker government (CG) recovered Tk 2323 crore of outstanding bills, Tk 320.5 crore of money siphoned abroad, and 14,187 acres of grabbed government land. It also improved the efficiency of Chittagong Port, boosting exports by 20 percent, the document said.

However the document identified the rising prices of essentials, 1454 MW power shortage, and an anachronistic administrative system as the main challenges the country is facing.

It claimed that with the help of the army the CG successfully established a 'stable law and order situation, restored socio-economic life of the country, brought reforms to the Election Commission, Anti-corruption Commission, and Public Service Commission, separated the judiciary from the executive branch of the government, and improved health service, power generation, and education'.

Regarding the CG's achievements in the ongoing anti-corruption drive, the document cited the arrests of 48 people, filing of first information reports against 18, putting four people on trial, and completions of 3 trials.

The document claimed that the CG reduced ships' average turn around time from 13 days in January to 4 days in May at Chittagong Port, and boosted the number of containers handled per day from 243 in January to 708 in May. It stated that the efficiency of the port increased by 40 percent and costs were reduced by 30 percent since the current CG had taken over the reins of power.

Export went up by 20 percent since January and 2,28,000 labourers were sent abroad to earn forex, the document said. It also stated that the government hopes to implement the tripartite agreement on the minimum wage in the garment industry by June 30.

The statement went on saying that the government already recovered Tk 260.5 crore of money siphoned abroad, while Tk 60 crore from the same kind of recovery is currently in the process of being deposited to the Bangladesh Bank.

Giving a detail of the government's achievements in recovering outstanding bills the statement said it recovered approximately Tk 1100 crore in outstanding electricity bills, Tk 521 crore in gas bills, Tk 418 crore in telephone bills, Tk 195 crore in water bills, and Tk 43 crore in land revenue, while it earned Tk 46 crore from issuing trade licenses.

The CG also recovered 14,187 acres of government land which had been illegally grabbed by encroachers. Most of the recovered lands are in Sylhet division (4500 acres), Rajshahi division (4420 acres) and Dhaka division (3051 acres).

The foreign currency reserve also went up from US$ 3.74 billion in January to US$ 4.54 billion in April, up by almost a billion dollars from $3.54 billion reserve in October 2006.

However, the document identified price hikes of essentials as a challenge, while observing that the prices in the international market had gone up. The statement noted that import duties on rice, wheat and pulse have been withdrawn and the government is considering relief measures.

It also identified 1454 MW power shortage as a major challenge and projected that usable power generation will rise from 242 MW in 2007 to 920 MW in 2008.

The document claimed that the government feels the current administrative system is lagging behind the times because it is very slow in relation to the speed of the information age, and said that it requires a 'total overhauling'.