Interim govt committed to key reforms before polls: Yunus

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus today said reform was the key word of the July-August student-led mass uprising, and his government is committed to carrying out major reforms before holding a “free and fair” election.
He said the interim government would act as a facilitator of the reform process and has set up 15 reform commissions so far to fix key institutions left broken by the dictatorship of Sheikh Hasina.
The chief adviser came up with the remarks when Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, an adviser of the IMF and World Bank and a former head of UNDP, called on him at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka today.
The British peer thanked Professor Yunus for assuming the leadership of the interim government at a very crucial time in Bangladesh’s history, especially at a time when expectations were high.
The former British minister also said he would be happy to extend his help to the cause of the Bangladeshi people.
The hour-long talks covered wide-ranging issues, including the mass uprising in July-August, development issues, the Interim Government’s reform initiatives, the misinformation campaign targeting the student-led movement, healthcare, social business, and microcredit.
Professor Yunus thanked Lord Malloch-Brown for supporting Bangladesh.
He said managing expectations is one of the key challenges of the government.
Dr Martha Chen, a development worker; Asif Saleh, the Executive Director of Brac, and Lamiya Morshed, senior secretary of the Bangladesh Government, were present in the meeting.