Daffodil International University
Faculties and Departments => Business Administration => Business & Entrepreneurship => BBA Discussion Forum => Topic started by: Rozina Akter on June 18, 2015, 04:51:04 PM
-
Social Safety Net Programmes (SSNPs) are those programmes and activities which are directly targeted to benefit the extreme poor. Operationally, these include all kinds of cash and kind transfers to the poor, all welfare activities including unemployment benefits for retrenched workers, subsidised health care, shelter for the homeless, pension benefits, human resources development etc.
During the last three decades, the government of Bangladesh has been pursuing a number of safety net programmes. Almost all ministries and agencies are pursuing some activities which are contributing to poverty alleviation or adding to the well-being and empowerment of the poor. Available information shows that there are 5 types of social safety net programmes: (i) cash support programme, (ii) food aid programmes, (iii) special programmes for poverty reduction, (iv) self-employment programmes through micro-credit, and (v) some specific programmes for poverty alleviation. Over time, the social safety net programmes have been getting increasing attention from the government as well as from non-governmental organisations. The social safety net budget has been hovering around 2.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Available figures suggest that Tk. 266,540 million was spent on social safety net programmes which was 2.26 per cent of GDP in the FY 2013-14. The budget allocation for FY 2014-15 is Tk. 307,510 million which is about 2.30 per cent of the current GDP.
The government has been implementing about 145 SSNPs, of which 52 programmes are being implemented through non-development budget and 93 programmes through development sector programmes. Again the SSNPs are classified into social protection programmes and social empowerment programmes. There are 16 programmes labelled as empowerment programmes under the revenue budget. The rest 36 programmes are termed social protection programmes. These programmes are being implemented under different development projects. Among the long list of programmes a few may be mentioned for ready reference. These include ashroyan project, stipends for primary & secondary education sector, female stipend for higher secondary and degree level students, school feeding programme, maternal, child & adolescent health care programme, urban health Care programme rural health and sanitation programme, one house one farm programme, programmes in fisheries and livestock sub-sectors, participatory rural development programme, cyclone recovery and restoration programme, rural livelihood and char livelihood programme and so on. Under non-development budget all kinds of allowances for various distressed groups fall under social protection. All food security programmes (like open market sales, vulnerable group development Test Relief, vulnerabel group feeding, gratuitous relief, food for work etc) also fall under social protection.
There are 16 programmes under non-development budget labelled as social empowerment programmes. These cover micro-credit programmes, housing support agriculture rehabilitation, stipend for disabled students, grants for the schools for the disabled, fund for climate change, child development and welfare activities and some other special programmes. Total non-development budget for SSNPs amounting to Tk. 231140 million and total development budget for SSNPs amounting to Tk 7637 million were allocated in the budget for FY 2014-15. Similar allocations have been proposed in the budget for FY 2015-16.
Social safety net programmes are important tools for poverty alleviation. However, studies about their effective governance are very few. Available studies suggest that despite many positive implications, SSNPs suffer from some weaknesses like minimum coverage, inappropriate targeting, leakages and lack of co-ordination. Minimum coverage implies that not a single safety net programme has got nationwide coverage although the problems prevail across the country. Inappropriate targeting implies inclusion of the ineligible or exclusion of eligible persons in the programme. This is a common phenomenon heard in various parts of the country. Leakages have been reported in some studies on some of the programmes. It is more prevalent in in-kind programmes. All the more important is lack of co-ordination of a large number of SSNPs at different levels. Many people in different levels of government even do not know how many SSNPs are being implemented. The Finance Division of the Ministry of Finance can circulate the list of SSNPs to all concerned. Co-ordination committees can be formed at different levels of government including in the Finance Division, Cabinet Division and the Planning Commission. Very recently, the government has approved some strategies for SSNPs. Hopefully, there will be guidelines for efficient implementation of the programmes.
-
Social safety is a good issue.........
-
:)