TIB hails plan to reveal details

Welcoming the finance minister's statement in parliament that the allocation for the defence ministry will be disclosed in future, Transparency International Bangladesh yesterday urged the government to disclose details of the defence budget in the current session of parliament.
TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said the graft watchdog had been demanding for a long time that the government ensure transparency and accountability of the defence budget and the finance minister's statement had made the TIB hopeful.
The matter should not be kept pending for future, he added in a press release.
Since public money is spent on defence, therefore, the budget must be disclosed immediately for the sake of open discussion and building public trust, observed the TIB official.
Dr Iftekharuzzaman called for introducing a culture of evaluating the defence expenditure regularly. Pointing at the Defence Companies Anti-Corruption Index 2012, he said Bangladesh had made a frustrating score in that index.
People do not know on what basis the decisions on purchasing arms, ammo and military hardware is taken. Even the parliamentary standing committee on the defence ministry also remains in the dark about such purchases, he mentioned.
Inclusion of sections on anti-corruption in the corresponding acts of defence purchase has become the demand of the time, said the release.
UNB reports: Finance Minister AMA Muhith in parliament on Monday assured that there will be elaborate statements on sector-wise allocation for the defence ministry from the next budget.