OMS Programme: Govt moves to introduce cards to ease hassles
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked the authorities to introduce cards for distribution of essentials under the Open Market Sale programme to ease hassles faced by the beneficiaries.
"The government has noticed lack in the OMS management. The issue was discussed today [yesterday]. The prime minister has instructed the authorities to improve the management," Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain said yesterday.
He was briefing reporters at the secretariat after a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) sells essentials to one crore poor families at fair prices against family cards issued by the TCB.
The cabinet secretary said the PM has directed the authorities to introduce cards for OMS also. This would help ensure discipline as people won't have to wait for hours in queues, he added.
Mahbub said that the Cabinet Division was working on this.
The OMS programme is run by the Directorate General of Food under the food ministry.
Earlier this month, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said the government was planning to provide 10kg of rice to each of over one crore families under the Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme during the upcoming Ramadan.
Contacted, commerce ministry Senior Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said they will hold a meeting with the food ministry as the OMS programme is run by them.
"We will discuss how the essentials can be distributed among the people under a package," he said.
Yesterday, the cabinet also passed a proposal on issuance of a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) by the Security Services Division, that would enable Bangladeshis to acquire citizenship (dual citizenship) of 44 more countries, including Brazil and Argentina.
Bangladeshis currently can obtain citizenship in 57 countries. After the issuance of the SRO, the figure will go up to 101.
Among the 44 new countries, 19 are African, 12 South American, and 12 Caribbean island countries. The other country is from Oceania.
The African countries are Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Algeria, Sudan, Morocco, Ghana, Rwanda, Burundi, Tunisia, Sierra Leone, Libya, Congo, Liberia, Central African Republic, Eritrea, The Gambia, Botswana and Mauritius.
Twelve countries of South America are Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Uruguay and Guyana.
Bangladeshis will also be able to become citizens of Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Barbados, Saint Vincent, and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Fiji.
The cabinet approved in principle the draft of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (Amendment) Act-2023. The proposed law seeks to bring some changes to the existing law, including extensions of the tenures of BSMMU vice chancellor, pro-vice chancellor and treasurer to four years from three years.
The meeting cleared the draft of Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan 2022-2041 putting emphasis on the climate change issues.
A fund of about $80 billion will be required to implement the plan, said the cabinet secretary.
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