Social safety net
[pic]
Bangladesh, right from its birth, has eyes glued on poverty alleviation and reduction of inequality and injustice. Pro-poor growth has been the expressed agenda of all political regimes. Be it the longest serving, loud and clear M. Saifur Rahman, or soft-spoken Kibria or a man "with Tagore in his heart" A.M.A. Muhith, all subscribed to the idea of protecting the "people at the bottom of the pyramid" through various social safety net programmes (SSNP). Their lieutenants at the ministry of finance, like Dr. Akbar Ali Khan, Zakir Ahmed Khan, Siddiqur Rahman Chowdhury and Dr. Mohammed Tareque were also moving on, holding the umbrella for the disadvantaged, mostly the passenger population.
The other day, I had the opportunity to attend a discussion on ultra-poor organised by Brac and budding economists at Dhaka University Economics Department. The session was told that Bangladesh has one of the most effective SSNPs in South Asia and there has been visible impact on poverty index due to the cohesive implementation of those programmes. Added to those were various programmes undertaken by many non-government organisations (NGO), especially in rural Bangladesh as well as urban slums.
However, the absence of comprehensive data makes it difficult to track the expenditure of the SSNPs. World Bank (2006) estimated that during FY1996-97 to FY2004-05 period, on an average, the government expenditure on SSNPs was to the tune of 0.8 % of the GDP and 5.7% of the total public expenditure. In fact, the definition of SSNP is undergoing several changes. For example, Pension for Retired Government Employees and their Families was being operated but was not recognised when a more comprehensive data on SSNP budget was presented in FY2006-07. In FY2010-11, this programme accounted for 20% of total safety net budget.
Efforts towards widening the SSNPs in recent years are evident in Bangladesh. In FY2010-11, 8 new programmes were introduced under SSNP. Budgetary allocations for SSNPs as a share of total budget increased from 8.4% in FY2006-07 to 14.8% in FY2010-11 (Figure 3.8). As a share of GDP, allocation for SSNPs also doubled in the last five years, reaching 2.5% in FY2010-11 compared to FY2006-07.
The draft Sixth Five Year Plan (SFYP) document has proposed to increase public expenditure on SSNPs to 3% of GDP in FY2014-15. Even with the recent rise, Bangladesh seems to be spending far less than other regions. World Bank (2006) showed that, on an average, South Asian economies spent 4% of GDP in SSNPs whereas the expenditure of East Asia and Pacific was about 8% of GDP.
With visible results, the ministry of finance is ready to come up more strongly on poverty. Some are of the opinion that the target market should be squeezed to make this more effective, some say the allocation should be more to make this worthwhile. However, most felt that only the ministry of finance could not ensure the positive impacts much unless line ministries like food, agriculture, health, education, women and children affairs come up with befitting and performance driven execution plan.
People do talk about decentralisation too these days, since moving to and fro takes much time and at times seriously deters implementation. Many have focused on quality expenditure management, monitoring and evaluation of the programmrs at the ministry and directorate levels. Expected implementation is also influenced by too much political intervention at the ground level. We also need to decentralise these with a performance stick at the Union Parishad level and make sure they reach out further to the target market.
Safety net programmes should continue and Bangladesh should be seen as a real test case for development by its peers and partners. Irrespective of party affiliation, all public representatives should get to see the "distribution economics" working for them. At the end of the day, further political accountability, democracy and tolerance can take this country to the next trajectory of growth.