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constitutional procedures. But these often did not work in practice, as they were altered under political influence,” he said.

Raihan noted that other laws in the banking sector hinder central bank independence and governance. “Those will also have to be amended. Ensuring coordination across the entire inter-agency and departmental network will also be necessary.”

He also cautioned against entirely removing bureaucratic involvement, saying civil service support is necessary for execution.

“Many tasks cannot be executed entirely without them. There needs to be a proper balance in this regard. Otherwise, the central bank may not get proper support from the finance ministry or other ministries.

“However, bureaucrats should never head these institutions,” he said.

Raihan said currently, no such process exists to create pressure on the next government to continue the reforms that have begun and to secure commitments from them.

Calling for discussion on these matters, he said, “Or else, many things will happen on paper now, but later we will see they are not being implemented in reality.”

CAPACITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Meanwhile, Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed told reporters on Tuesday that he supports BB’s autonomy in principle but it “must be earned” through capacity, integrity and efficiency.

“The Bangladesh Bank must have capacity, integrity, and efficiency. If you judge, do all the officials of the central bank have that? There is also such a thing as checks and balances,” he said.

“If you are not capable but remain in the chair, what good is autonomy? I am not opposing autonomy. But autonomy does not mean handing over everything. In no country in the world is there full autonomy,” he added.

On political engagement, Ahmed said the interim government has spoken with political parties about reforms in the banking and financial sectors, and the parties have broadly agreed to support and carry them forward.

The government aims to complete short-term reforms by February, leaving medium and long-term reforms to the next elected administration.

Under the conditions of the IMF $5.5 billion loan programme, the draft related to the BB autonomy should be approved by the advisory committee by September. And the ordinance should be issued within next December.