The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has responded to a news item titled “Transparent use of RMG stimulus loan demanded” published in The Business Standard on 1 December. In a press release, it said that the entire amount of the easy loans under the stimulus package goes directly from the government treasury to the accounts of garment workers through mobile financial service providers (MFS) and banks. Therefore, the question of investing the money elsewhere or embezzling it is absurd, added the association. BGEMA said it believes that the transfer of funds directly from banks to the accounts of garment workers is the best example of transparency. In this case, any kind of confusion is not desirable at all. Speaking at a programme organised by UK-based relief and development agency Christian Aid on Monday, representatives from different local and global non-government organisations said garment owners taking loans from Covid-19 stimulus package should be brought under accountability, clarifying and documenting how they spend the fund. They said it must be ensured that the stimulus package is spent for paying the salary of the workers. There is no way to invest the money in another sector or misappropriate it in any other way. Clarity and documentation of the use of the package is the only way to make the stimulus fruitful.
