THE government is set to launch a new social safetynet scheme to bring 3.57 crore poorest and most vulnerable people under state support to effectively tackling poverty and reducing income inequality. The National Social Security Strategy (NSSS), developed by the Planning Commission as reported in a national daily on Saturday said it plans to bring all highly vulnerable people under an extended social safetynet cover. Justifying the extended scheme, which exists over the years, the Planning Commission, said the country has still 40 million people below poverty line with the number of ultra-poor on the rise despite recent impressive reduction in poverty. Meanwhile the benefits of development are widely going to the rich and powerful creating more income inequality in the society. The existing social safetynet has lost focus as most of its benefits are making way to political musclemen and their supporters in a highly corrupt distributive system that needs to be reformed.
Study report said over 30 percent of the old age allowance now goes to those under the age of 60 and around 27 percent are going to the rich. Under the renewed plan the government is planning to spend over Tk 37,100 crore in fiscal 2015-16, which is 20.5 percent higher than this year’s budget. We share the concerns of the Planning Commission and the government in this respect as highlighted in the study report. There is no doubt the spending on the poor and vulnerable people must rise. But the question is whether the bigger budget would achieve the desired goal at a higher scale to reduce poverty and income inequality or it would go otherwise. Reports galore in the newspapers that money and food grains offered under social safetynet are almost openly used to give political favour to party men and run party activities locally. We would only hope that the greater allocations would go to the real poor without taking into consideration whether the recipients belong to this party or that party.
The study finding that despite a comprehensive safetynet scheme in place about 70 percent of the poor still do not receive safetynet support. There are problems like seasonal poor, inefficiency to reach the benefit to the targeted people and lack of accountability of the implementing agencies like local government bodies, NGOs and institutional ineptness.
We hope that the new system would be able to overcome the difficulties and reach the benefits to target population by reducing waste and making neutral selection of the beneficiaries. We urge that justice must be dispensed to all without discrimination.
