The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The government yesterday formed a 10-member medical board for treatment of detained Arafat Rahman Koko, younger son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

Koko is undergoing treatment at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) as he has been suffering from pain in the chest and has some neurological problems, medical sources said.

The board headed by Dr KMHS Sirajul Haq, Chairman of Cardiology Department of the BSMMU, examined Koko last night and said he should be kept in Coronary Care Unit (CCU) for some days.

Arafat Rahman Koko was arrested on September 3 along with his mother BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia on graft charges and was taken to police remand. He was sent to jail on Thursday before completion of the remand. Later he was shifted to BSMMU hospital Friday afternoon. Tariq Rahman, elder son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is also in Jail on the same charge.

No deal with IMF against national interest: Adviser

Staff Reporter

The government would not sign any deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that goes against the interest of the country, no mater whatever amount of money the global funding agency offers to lend, said the Finance Adviser.

"I will not accept any condition that undermines the interest of the country and I will not sign any treaty that goes against the interest of my country," Dr Mirza Azizul Islam said after a meeting with the visiting IMF team at his Planning Commission office in the city yesterday morning.

However, the Washington-based multilateral lending agency that oversees the global financial system by observing exchange rates and balance of payments, as well as offering financial and technical assistance, does not want that Bangladesh stops taking loans from it The IMF, an organization of 185 countries, has also become desperate to sign a new treaty with the Bangladesh government

The IMF mission is in Dhaka at a time when the donor agency has been pressing the Bangladesh government to sign an umbrella treaty for providing policy support, although there have been criticisms about such deals as the critics think this could bind the country to policy dictates.

Responding to questions from reporters about the much-talked-about Policy Support Instruments (PSI) treaty proposed by the IMF, he said still there has not been any discussion about the so-called PSI treaty. "But I can assure you that I will not take any money, whatever the amount, giving away the interest of the country," he said.

But, after the meeting, IMF Asia-Pacific Department adviser Thomas R Rumbaugh said that his organisation has many aspects, avenues and options to help Bangladesh, and they are interested to tie up themselves under a treaty with Bangladesh.

"There are several options; PSI is one of the options, while PRGF is another. But it depends on the government of Bangladesh under which treaty they want it," he said.

The Finance Adviser made it clear that the government would not refuse any budgetary support from any donor organisations or countries unless they tag any impossible condition binding the aid package.

Defending his stance on taking budgetary supports, he said that the government can tackle the relief activities with its domestic resources, but the post-flood rehabilitation programme would need external support

"Different ministries are yet to send their post-flood demands. When it will start to come, we will need budgetary support then."

When his atention was drawn to some countries having said goodbye to the IMF for its policy advocacy that has allegedly done more harm than good to them, he said that geting out from the grip of IMF depends on what type of assistance needed. "Many countries again enter in the IMF after they get out," he said, apparently disapproving of such suggestion.

To a query whether it needs to enter into any treaty with the IMF for money when the Balance-of-Payments (BoP) situation is good, he said it not means to enter into a new treaty, it means to get budgetary supports. "BoP and budgetary support is totally different issues--BoP

is the part of remitance, it is not part of the government"

He also refused to have any link with the closing down of jute mills and signing treaty with the IMF, the twin of the World Bank that has

sponsored drastic reforms and denationalization of state-owned enterprises, which involves layoffs and retrenchments.

About the discussion points with the IMF, Dr Aziz said that they discussed revenue reform, income-tax law, reform in revenue management, revenue collection, inflation and financial-sector reform.

About the IMF's proposal for separating revenue-policy body and collecting body, he said, "I am agreed with it and once upon a time it was separate in the country. But we have some administrative issues to do that"

The Finance Adviser said that the IMF team appreciated his government's effort to increase the revenue collection and reform initiative for financial sector.

Terming the present state of inflation 'import price-driven inflation', not 'excess demand-driven inflation', he apprised the IMF team that the prices of essentials did not rise up on a par with the price hike on the international market

In recent weeks the IMF's role in Bangladesh has become controversial as its reform prescriptions in various fields of the country economy has strongly been criticised by the civil society, business community and academicians.

They observed that the IMF's prescriptions, if implemented, would bring disaster to the country's overall economy.

The role of this Breton Woods institution has also been controversial since the late Cold War period. Critics claim that IMF policy makers deliberately supported capitalistic military dictatorships friendly to American and European corporations.

Critics also claim that the IMF is generally apathetic or hostile to their views of democracy, human rights, and labour rights.

Overall the IMF success record is perceived as limited. While it was created to help stabilise the global economy, since 1980 critics claim over 100 countries have experienced a banking collapse that they claim have reduced GDP by four percent or more, far more than at any time in Post-Depression history.