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Funds crisis stalls FBCCI capacity-building efforts

Star Business Report
The capacity-building efforts of the apex trade body have been stalled due to funds shortage as the government has not yet responded positively to provide necessary financial assistance.
Facing the financial crisis the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) is unable to imple-ment the capacity building programmes and upgrade services to the private sector.
Seeking support from the government, the FBCCI submitted a 33-point charter of demands to the commerce ministry on November 2 last year but none of the demands is fulfilled so far, sources said.
FBCCI demanded an annual grant of Tk 2 crore from the government and proposed the government collect the money by imposing 0.25
percent levy on imported items.
The apex trade body said it requires Tk 17 lakh a month to meet the operational expenses against its monthly income of Tk 9 lakh, mainly comes from rents of other offices at the Federation Bhaban and subscriptions from the members.
It also requested the government to donate one-fourth of the yearly earning from the Dhaka International Trade Fair to help the federation come out of the fund shortage.
The FBCCI last received government donation to the tune of Tk 25 lakh in 1997-98.
Kamaluddin Ahmed, first vice-president of FBCCI, said the government should meet the monetary demands to help strengthen the federations' institutional capacity and improve its services to the private sector.
"We hope, the government will
fulfill our legitimate demands as we represent the whole business community of the country," he said. "Capacity building of the federation will provide benefits to our economy."
Ahmed however said the government appears sympathetic to many of their demands. "But bureaucratic tangles are stopping them to become reality."
Meanwhile, the FBCCI after getting government approval applied to Bangladesh Railway to acquire a two-acre land at Begunbari for construction of a modern federation building.
"We hope we'll be able to acquire the land within two months and construct the proposed building during our tenure,"Ahmed said. The building will have spacious conference hall, display centre, business centre, and other facilities similar to Bangladesh-China Friendship
Conference Centre, he informed.
"We have a project to modernise our information and research cell, which will compile and provide independent statistical data on trade position, economic indicators and unemployment rate," he said.
FBCCI sought increased role of the trade body in trade negotiations of the government and other business activities and in the negotiations for free trade agreements, apart from mediating in any problem involving associations and the government.
Other FBCCI demands include: declaring the FBCCI directors as CIP (commercially important person), appointment of commercial counsellor in Bangladesh missions abroad from private sector, and passage of Consumer Protection Act-2003 in parliament.