Ordinances empowering govt to set energy prices becoming law

Staff Reporter :
The Cabinet on Monday cleared the draft of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (Amendment) Act, 2023 to replace an existing ordinance that paved the way for the government to adjust the prices of gas and electricity without public hearings.
On December 1, 2022, the ‘Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2022’ was promulgated amending the ‘Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) Act-2003’. The new ordinance was placed in the Parliament on January 5.
With this approval, the ordinance is now being turned into an act. No change was made in the draft. It is the same as the ordinance.
The approvals were given in the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office yesterday.
Besides, the Cabinet has also approved the draft of ‘National Agricultural Marketing Policy, 2023’ to modernise the marketing system and ensure highest benefits for the farmers through different measures including fixation of minimum and maximum rational prices for the agricultural products.
In the meeting, the draft of ‘Sheikh Hasina Agricultural University Act, 2023’ was also given approval in principle to establish the country’s 9th agricultural university in Shariatpur and the draft of ‘Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (Amendment) Act, 2023’ to legalise the ‘Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2022’ issued on December 1, 2022.
After the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain briefed
reporters at Bangladesh Secretariat. In his briefing, Mahbub Hossain said, “The National Agricultural Marketing Policy was designed incorporating some goals and targets to modernise the marketing system of agricultural goods. It focuses on how the market of agricultural goods can be monitored and farmers can be given the highest benefits.”
“Steps will be taken to fix and implement the minimum and maximum rational prices of agricultural goods,” he added.
He informed that other steps which will be taken as per the policy include enhancing links between the farmers and markets, strengthening information management, improving marketing infrastructures, promoting digital markets, strengthening community-based, group-based and contract-based marketing, promoting e-agricultural marketing system and digital markets, and developing the overall supply chain.
During the approval of the policy, the Prime Minister directed to design an agricultural goods-processing policy with a view to modernising the sector, maintaining international standards of products and thus promoting the export of processed goods, the Cabinet Secretary added.
He said the directive came as the markets for Bangladeshi processed agricultural goods have created worldwide as Bangladeshi diaspora communities use the goods and foreign people are also showing interest to the commodities.
The Premier also directed to consider jute goods as agricultural ones saying that the jute sector should get all sorts of facilities entitled for the agricultural sector.
Jute goods have been treated as industrial products. But now the use of jute fiber has enhanced massively and created a huge prospect for the goods locally and internationally. So, now jute goods need to be considered as agricultural ones to unlock this huge prospect, said Mahbub Hossain.
Regarding the draft of Sheikh Hasina Agricultural University Act, Mahbub Hossain said that the university will be an institute like the existing agricultural universities of the country.