Safety net programmes for the ultra-poor
Experts agree on the point that spiraling prices of essentials over the last few years have pushed 40 lakh people into poverty trap adding those many to the 36 percent hardcore poor already languishing under the poverty line. Against this background, little wonder, therefore, that the government has decided to cast the safety net wider through test relief (TR), food for work programme (FWP), and targeted OMS operations at affordable prices. These will add to the VGD and VGF programmes already in operation.
The projected expansion in safety net programmes brings up a couple of issues concerning implementation of such schemes in a way that provides food security to the needy multitudes. The first relates to putting in place distribution channels devoid of middlemen, so that only the deserving can access the benefits. Secondly, the implementation ought to be corruption-free in that those in charge often choose their favourites and party loyalists to be the beneficiaries of the programmes for the most part.
A study presented at a seminar on "Basic Social Security System as part of social protection: The case of Bangladesh", organised by Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Services (RDRS) at IDB Bhaban on Tuesday revealed that the poorest are 'often deprived as nepotism and political affiliation frequently determine the selection procedure for the underprivileged'. Thus, we fully endorse the suggestion aired by most speakers at the seminar that a special team of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) be assigned to monitor the safety programmes.
The government should take all precautions lest the safety net programmes, being launched to stand by the side of the ultra-poor in their hour of need, are not tainted by partisanship in any form or shape. To ensure this, the elected representatives of local bodies should involve the wider community in the matter of drawing up lists of beneficiaries strictly in accordance with objective need assessments and realities on the ground.
Aside from tasking the ACC with monitoring responsibility, another very cogent suggestion has been put forward by human rights activist Sultana Kamal who very cogently thought that the RTI could be pressed into service to sensitise the poor about their right to food security and obtain it. We think the RTI should be operationalised sooner than later.
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