Post-budget press confce disrupted by sound system problem

AHM Mustafa Kamal, Finance Minister of Bangladesh

Malfunctioning of the sound system marred the start of Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal's post-budget press conference at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka.

The session was disrupted for more than 10 minutes, half an hour after the briefing began on Friday.

Kamal, accompanied by six other ministers and government officials, started the briefing on time, but reporters were not able to hear his speech. The authorities sought to fix the issue after several journalists raised the matter with the minister.

Kamal also faced difficulties receiving questions from journalists, at one point saying, “No sound at my end.”

The debacle worsened around 3:45 pm when ministers and government employees also complained about not being able to hear questions.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder and Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain tried to handle the situation by seeking hand-held microphones, but the organisers failed to provide such equipment.

The problem was eventually resolved after half an hour, with the finance ministry officials blaming the event management firm for the fiasco.

Television cameras later moved their set-ups closer to the stage, disrupting news gathering by other journalists in attendance. Broadcast media workers were urged to return to their previous location afterwards.

The briefing resumed after the problem was fixed at around 4 pm, but some minor technical issues lingered throughout the event.