UNB, Dhaka :
The government eyes to reduce moderate poverty to 18.6 percent from the present 24.8 percent and the extreme poverty to 8.9 percent from the current 12.9 percent by FY20, the terminal year of 7th Five Year Plan (FY16-FY20), through job creation based on growth and structural change.
This was revealed at a roundtable discussion, titled ‘Extreme and Moderate Poverty, Social Protection and Lagging Regions: Targets and Strategies in the 7th Five Year Plan’ jointly organised by the EPRG, UKaid, Shiree and Bangla Daily Banik Barta at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC).
General Economics Division (GED) member of the Planning Commission Prof Dr Shamsul Alam presented the keynote paper.
Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal spoke on the occasion as the chief guest while State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan as the special guest. Daily Banik Barta Editor Dewan Hanif Mahmud moderated the programme.
Former caretaker government adviser Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman spoke on the occasion while Dr Zulfiqar Ali made another presentation on ‘Targets and strategies to eradicate extreme poverty in the 7th Five Year Plan: Some Reflections’.
During his power-point presentation, Prof Shamsul Alam showed that
the government aims to reduce moderate poverty to 23.5 percent and
extreme poverty to 12.1 percent by FY16, moderate poverty to 22.3 percent and extreme poverty to 11.2 percent by FY17, moderate poverty to 21 percent and extreme poverty to 10.4 percent by FY18 and moderate poverty to 19.8 percent and extreme poverty to 9.7 percent by FY19.
Dr Shamsul Alam said since employment and real wages are the best means for securing sustainable reduction in moderate and extreme poverty, the utmost priority will be given to job creation in manufacturing and the services sector.
He said additional 18.7 million employment would be created during the tenure of 7th Five year Plan albeit there will be 12.5 million new entrants in the labour force at that time.
Planning Minister Mustafa Kamal said poverty is really a curse and society should have to be freed from it. “It’s our duty to eradicate it and we’re also accountable in this regard.”
Admitting the limitations and delay of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) in conducting and revealing the outcomes of the major surveys, he said although they had to depend on the results of the last Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES-2010) for framing the plan, they are working hard to reduce the time lag as efforts are there to reveal this survey findings in every two years.
He also assured that there is no information engineering at the BBS for which the development partners could rely on its data and statistics.
Noting that it is not possible to create cent percent employment opportunities to eliminate poverty, Mustafa Kamal, however, renewed his firm hope to see a hunger- and poverty-free Bangladesh by 2030.
“We want to see fruitful democracy, where people wouldn’t kill others, there’ll be no arson, vandalism, petrol bombs and hartal while the economic activities would not at all be deterred,” he added.
Taking part in open discussion, renowned economist and adviser to the executive director of Brac Dr Mahbub Hossain noted that the microfinance porgrammes are gradually losing their emphasis for poverty alleviation since the poor are now moving out from the microfinance programmes.
The government eyes to reduce moderate poverty to 18.6 percent from the present 24.8 percent and the extreme poverty to 8.9 percent from the current 12.9 percent by FY20, the terminal year of 7th Five Year Plan (FY16-FY20), through job creation based on growth and structural change.
This was revealed at a roundtable discussion, titled ‘Extreme and Moderate Poverty, Social Protection and Lagging Regions: Targets and Strategies in the 7th Five Year Plan’ jointly organised by the EPRG, UKaid, Shiree and Bangla Daily Banik Barta at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC).
General Economics Division (GED) member of the Planning Commission Prof Dr Shamsul Alam presented the keynote paper.
Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal spoke on the occasion as the chief guest while State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan as the special guest. Daily Banik Barta Editor Dewan Hanif Mahmud moderated the programme.
Former caretaker government adviser Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman spoke on the occasion while Dr Zulfiqar Ali made another presentation on ‘Targets and strategies to eradicate extreme poverty in the 7th Five Year Plan: Some Reflections’.
During his power-point presentation, Prof Shamsul Alam showed that
the government aims to reduce moderate poverty to 23.5 percent and
extreme poverty to 12.1 percent by FY16, moderate poverty to 22.3 percent and extreme poverty to 11.2 percent by FY17, moderate poverty to 21 percent and extreme poverty to 10.4 percent by FY18 and moderate poverty to 19.8 percent and extreme poverty to 9.7 percent by FY19.
Dr Shamsul Alam said since employment and real wages are the best means for securing sustainable reduction in moderate and extreme poverty, the utmost priority will be given to job creation in manufacturing and the services sector.
He said additional 18.7 million employment would be created during the tenure of 7th Five year Plan albeit there will be 12.5 million new entrants in the labour force at that time.
Planning Minister Mustafa Kamal said poverty is really a curse and society should have to be freed from it. “It’s our duty to eradicate it and we’re also accountable in this regard.”
Admitting the limitations and delay of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) in conducting and revealing the outcomes of the major surveys, he said although they had to depend on the results of the last Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES-2010) for framing the plan, they are working hard to reduce the time lag as efforts are there to reveal this survey findings in every two years.
He also assured that there is no information engineering at the BBS for which the development partners could rely on its data and statistics.
Noting that it is not possible to create cent percent employment opportunities to eliminate poverty, Mustafa Kamal, however, renewed his firm hope to see a hunger- and poverty-free Bangladesh by 2030.
“We want to see fruitful democracy, where people wouldn’t kill others, there’ll be no arson, vandalism, petrol bombs and hartal while the economic activities would not at all be deterred,” he added.
Taking part in open discussion, renowned economist and adviser to the executive director of Brac Dr Mahbub Hossain noted that the microfinance porgrammes are gradually losing their emphasis for poverty alleviation since the poor are now moving out from the microfinance programmes.
