BANGLADESH NEWS
Prime minister's Adviser Mashiur Rahman on Sunday said he would step down if his resignation ensures revival of the World Bank financing for the Padma bridge project.
“I will resign if the prime minister asks me to do so,” Mashiur said when asked whether he had already resigned,
He was speaking to journalists at his residence in the city’s Minto road.
“The World Bank should prove the allegations it brought against me,” he added.
Mashiur has denied any involvement in the alleged corruption in the Padma bridge project, and said the government has not yet asked him to resign in its efforts to revive the World Bank financing for the project.
the PM's economic affairs adviser said if there were corruption allegations against him over the project, both the government and the WB could make those public.
Finance ministry officials said Mashiur's removal is the last hurdle for the government to convince the global lender to revive its $1.2 billion loan that it had cancelled in June. And it must be done by this week.
The WB gave a clear signal to the government that it would withdraw the loan cancellation if the government implemented its three conditions, including the removal of former communication minister Syed Abul Hossain and adviser Mashiur Rahman. The government has to provide the WB with documents about their removal.
The WB in September last year suspended its promised $1.2 billion funding for the country's biggest infrastructure project over corruption allegations.
The global lender cancelled its loan agreement in June on the grounds that all its conditions had not been met.
The government started fresh talks with the WB early this month and they are now at the final stage. The government with the help of the WB's Dhaka office prepared a draft letter mentioning the government steps, said a finance ministry source.
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