Govt’s New Stimulus Packages: For the poor made poorer
The government yesterday announced a Tk 3,200 crore relief package for the ultra-poor and destitute families and the tourism sector -- segments that were dealt a fresh blow by the latest round of hard lockdown to contain the second wave of Covid-19 cases.
The country would be entering into another two weeks of strict lockdown from July 23, so the latest package would provide some relief to the poor, who were hit the hardest by the global coronavirus pandemic that began in earnest in Bangladesh from March last year.
As many as 9 crore are now in a vulnerable position, according to the Asian Development Bank.
Under the new package, which comes as the country wraps up two weeks of 'hard' lockdown today, Tk 450 crore has been allocated to distribute Tk 2,500 each in cash to about 17.2 lakh people.
Of them, about 14.4 lakh would be day labourers, 2.4 lakh transport workers, 50,445 small traders and 1,603 shipping workers.
In another package, Tk 100 crore has been allocated to all deputy commissioners for providing food assistance when someone makes a request by calling 333.
Another Tk 150 crore has been allocated for operating 813 special open market sale (OMS) centres across the country from July 25 to August 7 to help the low-income people in urban areas get food.
Allocations were made for 20,000 tonnes of rice and 14,000 tonnes of flour. Rice would be sold at Tk 10 per kilogram, down from Tk 30 per kg at present, said a top official of the food ministry.
The OMS operations have been scaled up in the capital in light of the 'strict' lockdown, said Food Secretary Mosammat Nazmanara Khanum.
At present, 20 trucks are operating in Dhaka, up from 10 previously. Each truck gets 3 tonnes of rice, up from 1 tonne before.
Besides, the government has approved 147 shops to operate OMS and of them at least 95 are operating daily, Khanum added.
The tourism sector, another segment that has been impaired by the pandemic, has been allocated Tk 1,000 crore. Hotels and motels can take loans at 4 percent to pay the salaries and allowances of their workers.
Another Tk 1,500 crore has been allocated to Palli Sanchay Bank, Karmasangsthan Bank and Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) for lending at 4 percent interest towards job-creating activities in rural areas. The three organisations were previously allocated Tk 3,200 crore for the end.
"This stimulus package was a necessary step," said Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute, while calling for the assistance to be rolled over until the second wave has been snuffed out in full.
The package is better defined than the previous one provided last year when the country went into a 66-day countrywide shutdown to snuff out the first wave of coronavirus cases as it addresses many of the grey areas, he said.
However, the issue of duplication, which was present in the last package, remains.
"If the same persons get help from different ministries, then the net for assistance becomes small," said Mansur, also the chairman of Brac Bank.
Had the government created a central database or handed out the assistance through the mobile financial services platform, then the benefits would have been better targeted.
"The Tk 3,200 crore is a little more than last year's package but it is still a modest amount," said Binayak Sen, director-general of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.
As many as 1.5 crore has slipped into poverty for the pandemic to take the total number of poor in the country to 6 crore, according to BIDS's estimate.
But the Centre for Policy Dialogue estimates the number of new poor is as high as 4.2 crore to take the total number of poor to 7.6 crore.
The portion of the population living below the poverty line is simulated to be 33–44 percent against the pre-crisis estimate of 20.5 percent, according to a recent document of the ADB.
The first wave of Covid-19 was largely in the cities and metropolitan areas but the current wave is sweeping across the country, Sen said.
"So more people need help this time, so the package should have been more."
He went on to approve the deployment of OMS to extend help to the poor.
"It is not a bad idea as it is a self-targeting mechanism. You would only come if you do not have food. It takes effort to come and collect food. Plus, there is a stigma attached. So, it is a good initiative," Sen added.
VGF AND OTHERS
In a separate move, the government is set to distribute 10 kgs of rice for free ahead of Eid-ul-Azha to about one crore "ultra-poor and destitute families" that have the vulnerable group feeding (VGF) card in 492 upazilas and 328 municipalities across the country.
The disaster management and relief ministry on July 4 sent a letter to all the offices concerned and asked the deputy commissioners of all districts to inform the respective lawmakers about the allocation.
The letter also asked the officials to distribute the allocated rice by July 19 to all the VGF cardholders.
According to the letter, the ultra-poor and destitute families will need to meet at least four out of the 12 criteria to be eligible for the assistance.
The criteria include landless households or those who have only homestead; households dependent on daily wage labour; households dependent on women's income or begging; households with no income-generating assets; households headed by widowed, divorced or separated women; households headed by a freedom fighter with a disability, and households without access to two full meals a day for most of the year.
Only one beneficiary per household can receive the food aid, which will be distributed by local public representatives.
The letter also asked for redistribution of the VGF cards for unions and wards based on the 2011 census.
Besides, the ministry on the same day sent separate letters to concerned offices informed that 14,000 tonnes of rice and Tk 1.41 crore has been allocated in favour of 64 DCs, 3,280 tonnes of rice and Tk 3.28 crore for 328 municipalities and 800 tonnes of rice and Tk 4 crore for 12 city corporations as humanitarian assistance.
Priority should be given to the victims of natural disasters and people who became jobless, particularly the transport workers, as a result of the pandemic.
The allocation can be spent on giving food assistance -- rice, pulses, salt, oil, potatoes -- to those who seek help by calling the national helpline 333.
"We have made the allocation so that people can have some food stocks during the festival," said a top official of the Disaster Management and Relief Ministry.
Comments