Austerity measures: Office hours now 9 to 4, shops to close by 6
The government yesterday announced a series of austerity measures, including curtailing office hours and early closure of shopping malls and shops, as the fallout of the US-Israel war on Iran strains the energy sector.
It also decided to cut expenditure on fuel, power, and gas for government offices by 30 percent and suspend all government-financed foreign training for civil servants until further orders.
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Purchase of government vehicles, vessels, and aircraft has also been put on hold.
The decisions were made at a three-hour-long cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Cabinet Room of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Gani told reporters after the meeting.
He said expenditure on hospitality at meetings and seminars would be reduced by 50 percent. Domestic training programmes would also be cut by 50 percent, he said, adding that non-essential travel expenses would also be cut by 30 percent.
All government and private offices will run from 9:00am to 4:00pm, while banks will conduct transactions from 9:00am to 3:00pm and close fully for the day by 4:00pm.
Shopping malls would have to close by 6:00pm from tomorrow, but outlets for essentials, eateries, and pharmacies would remain open, he said, adding that no decorative lighting would be allowed for weddings or celebrations.
Nasimul said, “We are considering how we can deal with the fact that our supply system has become insecure because of the Middle East war, and what measures we can take to handle the resulting price fluctuations.”
The cabinet secretary said some government expenditure would be reduced for the next three months and that no new computer equipment would be purchased.
On educational institutions, he said the education ministry would start issuing separate instructions from Sunday after considering requirements at different levels so that academic activities are not hampered.
On Tuesday, Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon said the government was considering combining online and in-person classes. He also said the authorities were thinking about six-day school weeks.
Nasimul added that the government decided to introduce electric buses as an alternative to the large number of vehicles used by government schools, which will be allowed to import electric buses without duty. Commercial electric buses would only have 20 percent import duty.
The cabinet also approved in principle an amendment to the Public Examinations Offences Act by revising parts of the 1980 law, so that offences committed in public examinations can be tried, he added.
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