Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon in Parliament on Wednesday said that his ministry has the responsibility and is accountable for making the national flag carrier Biman profitable although it has no effective control over the organisation.
Making the claim while taking part in the general discussion on the proposed budget for 2014-15 fiscal, he advocated for establishing the ministry’s effective role on Biman Bangladesh Airlines which is now run by the Board of Directors.
“The (Civil Aviation) Ministry has the responsibility and is accountable to make the Biman profitable, but it has no effective control. The place to work in the Biman is very narrow,” Menon said.
He mentioned that the Biman inducted big aircrafts in its fleet, but did not include small aircrafts to restart the domestic routes.
The Civil Aviation Minister said: “We could not implement the pledge of the Prime Minister to resume operation the Dhaka-New York route.”
About upgrading the schedule of Biman flights, he said people now feel encouraged to travel on Biman.
Menon said the rigid attitude of the Biman Board regarding the operation of the national flag carrier is the main obstacle. “Effective role of the Ministry (of Civil Aviation & Tourism) is needed for the progress of the Biman.”
Putting emphasis on the establishing of good governance in the country, he said that otherwise, the confidence of the people will wane. In this connection, he mentioned the recent incidents in Narayanganj, Feni and Mirpur in Dhaka.
“There is no alternative to establishing good governance for removing the people’s no-confidence that has been created through the forced disappearance, killing and extra-judicial killings,” said Menon, also the president of Workers Party.
He said that if the government can ensure good governance, it could continue in office till 2019 without any hindrance as the massive development is going on in the country under the leadership of the Prime Minister.
“The blood eye of America, the ideal talks of European Union and threats of Begum Zia will not make any sense,” he said.
Putting emphasis on the private investment in the country for attaining the desired growth, the Civil Aviation Minister said private investment should be encouraged through bank loans, land, power, gas and infrastructural development.
Talking about the foreign masters, he mentioned that in the recent times the foreign masters are making slightly high noise. “The leadership of Sheikh Hasina showed how to disregard these masters,” he added.
Talking about corruption, Menon said the government should take effective steps to bring back the money that went to the Swiss banks and to Malaysia in the name of second home after proper investigation.
He said that if the government is able to contain corruption, it will boost the GDP at least two percent. “People’s confidence will be lost if the government could not curb corruption.”
The Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister criticized the Finance Minister for allocating what he called the lowest amount for his ministry in the next budget.
Source: UNB Connect
