Annual poverty reduction rate still low, admits Muhith

Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Sunday acknowledged that the annual poverty reduction rate was much below than required and that it should be increased.
He underscored the need for reducing the poverty rate by at least 2 per cent annually to attain the government's goal for eradicating poverty from the country.
"So far we've done well in poverty reduction. But, still our annual poverty reduction rate is yet to reach 2.0 per cent as it is much below than 2.0 per cent now and we have to raise it to that level," said the minister.
"Our goal is to reduce the poverty level to 10 per cent for which we have to maintain the annual reduction rate at 2.0 per cent for next seven to 10 years which is very important for us," Muhith noted.
The finance minister was addressing the inaugural ceremony of the day-long 'Bangladesh Kishore-Kishori Sommelon 2018' held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in the city.
Organised by Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), the event was addressed by PKSF's deputy managing director M Fazlul Kader and director Naznin Sultana with the foundation's chairman Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad in the chair.
Although the present government has successfully combated poverty in many ways, still nearly 30 million people in the country live below the poverty line, including 10 million in extreme poverty, said Muhith.
Eradicating poverty does not really mean that there would be no poverty in the country; rather there would be some people who would always remain below the poverty level, like the physically and mentally challenged, widowed, and the aged, he observed.
The finance minister said the state would have to look after this section of people and some 10-14 per cent such people in any country remain under the supervision of the state.
Citing examples, he said poverty rate in the USA is around 14 per cent while it is 7.0 per cent in Malaysia.
The future of any country depends on the new generation while the juveniles of today are the state leaders, philosophers, and social reformists of the future, he added.
"Our state organ and mechanism have been working for ensuring their welfare," he opined.
According to PKSF, the 'Bangladesh Kishore-Kishori Sommelon 2018' has been organised with participation of 710 adolescents selected out of 0.1 million students from some 11,000 educational institutions through various creative and knowledge-based competitions.
After the inaugural session, a workshop was held with the participation of juveniles.
Nazneen Sultana said there is lack of open-mindedness, ethics and integrity among people now.
The goal of Liberation War has not been achieved fully, she added.
Fazlul Kader said the country is facing challenges like climate change, negligence towards vocational training and lack of initiative to develop entrepreneurship.
Economic development and values are two sides of the same coin, he added.

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