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By Rahman Jahangir.
Dhaka, 8 June:
Bangladesh Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith has told the Bangladesh parliament that the government of Prime . . .[restrict]Minister Sheikh Hasina has given cash donations to the Bangladeshi workers who fled Libya during last year’s revolution. He said that altogether 36,656 of them had received 50,000 Taka ($630). The payment was to set up small businesses at home.
He made the announcement while presenting the national budget for 2012/13 fiscal year beginning 1 July. Altogether the Bangladesh government has allocated 27,690 million Taka (US$346 million) in the budget for the welfare and overseas employment of Bangladeshi expatriate workers. They are seen as breads-winners of the economy, remitting home in 2011 a total of $11.5 billion — equivalent to about 13 percent of the country’s GDP.
In his budget proposals presented to parliament on Thursday, Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith said remittance inflow was particularly important for Bangladesh’s economy. “We have identified manpower export as one of the priority sectors.”
A number of Bangladeshi workers have returned to Libya in the past couple of months. They now constitute a major element in Tripoli’s street cleaners. However, problems last month over Libyan group visas issued to Bangladeshis and some 200 refused entry despite having a group visa issued by the Libyan embassy in Dhaka resulted at the end of last month in the Bangladesh government banning workers going to Libya. [/restrict]
