Factories Have to Reopen Gradually Maintaining Health Protocols: Salman F Rahman

Factories Have to Reopen Gradually Maintaining Health Protocols: Salman F Rahman

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's private sector adviser Salman F Rahman has said the country's export-oriented factories must begin to open slowly and by maintaining necessary health protocols so as to save lots of the economy.

"We need to take a choice . we've the Sweden model ahead of us; they didn't enforce lockdown. In China's Wuhan, a second wave of infections is happening . Germany and France are still suffering, new infections and deaths are happening, but still they're opening up their factories," he said.

"We need to skills our economy will suffer, what's our health risk. But we must open our economy gradually by taking precautions," said the adviser to the PM.

He asked the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) to organize a suggestion on how this might be done.

Salman F Rahman said this at a discussion organised by the FBCCI yesterday. Business leaders, economists, editors and policymakers joined the discussion. The baron had joined the discussion virtually.

 

Factories Have to Reopen Gradually Maintaining Health Protocols Salman F Rahman

The session was moderated by FBCCI President Sheikh Fazle Fahim.

The discussion was also attended by the leaders of DCCI, BGMEA, BKMEA, BTMA, Editors' Guilds, ATCO and various business chambers and associations.

Sheikh Fahim said the govt was lecture the planet Health Organization (WHO) and other global bodies to organize the health protocols in order that opening up factories might be wiped out line with global standards.

Rubana Huq, president of the BGMEA, said they were struggling to permit opening of 856 factories.

She said global buyers had cancelled orders worth quite $3 billion and now it had been crucial to reopen the factories.

She also suggested opening up the factories zone-wise, during a limited way and under a decided timeframe.

Mahbubul Alam, president of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the importers were facing troubles at the Chittagong port as they weren't having the ability to urge clearance due to limited office hours of the shipping agents and procedural delay by the customs.

Small and medium enterprises in Chattogram do business worth about Tk 37,000 crore within the month of Ramadan, but this point they're suffering due to coronavirus outbreak.

He requested the FBCCI to form some arrangements in order that the SMEs can do business by taking health precautions.

Ahsan H Mansur, executive of the Policy Research Institute, said the FBCCI, BGMEA and other sectors should work together to organize sector-based health protocols under which the factories might be reopened.

He appreciated the government-announced stimulus package to affect the impact of coronavirus, but said the quantity should be increased.

The discussion was also attended by former FBCCI presidents AK Azad, Mir Nasir Hossain, Matlub Ahmad, Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam, Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman, Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, DBC News CEO Manjurul Islam, Ekattor TV Chief Mozammel Babu, Banik Barta Editor Dewan Hanif Mahmud, Bhorer Kagoj Editor Shyamal Dutta and business and chamber leaders from Khulna, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Rangpur, Jamalpur.