High profile meet on 6th five-year plan today
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
FE Report
A high profile meeting of the government to formulate the "sixth five-year plan" will be held today (Wednesday) for introducing a fresh guideline for the country's development plans and policy, officials said Wednesday.
The meeting will be presided over by the planning minister AK Khandakar while economic affairs adviser to the Prime Minister Mashiur Rahman and secretaries of different ministries would contribute their inputs for the preparation of the proposed development document.
"The steering committee, headed by AK Khandakar, will frame the development plan based on a concept note. The planning ministry has already prepared the concept paper," a top government official told the FE.
The 21-member steering committee on preparation of the 6th five-year plan would sit for the first time at the planning ministry in the city.
The government has also formed another panel of economists, headed by senior economist Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud to assist the steering committee in finalising the country's proposed development plan and policy document.
The newly elected Awami League-led government has decided to reintroduce the five-year development plan from the financial year 2010-11.
Another official in the government said the proposed sixth five-year plan would be different from the past five-year plans, discontinued since 2002.
"The document will not consist of development plans only, it will also have some policy guidelines for boosting the country's economy and ensure a hunger-free nation," he said.
In the concept note for the proposed 6th five-year development plan, the planning ministry has set a target of bringing down the poverty rate to 15 per cent by the year 2021 from the existing 40 per cent, the official said.
He said the steering committee members in Wednesday's meeting would give their suggestions, which would be incorporated in the final document of the development plan.
The government would formulate the five-year plan which would be followed for the country's development between the financial year 2010-11 and 2014-15.
A planning ministry official said the development plan would be framed in line with the election manifesto of the government.
After discontinuing the five-year plan in 2002, Bangladesh introduced donor-advised poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) in July 2005 where the country has a target to achieve the millennium development goals (MDGs) by the year 2015.
Due to criticism from different quarters on the shortfalls in the ongoing PRSP, the newly elected government has taken the initiative to change the nation's public investment policy after seven-year absence of the five-year plan.
The critics including development activists and political leaders say the PRSP, not a homegrown document, has failed to ensure an inclusive and sustainable development of the country as it has no well-organised long-term goals, to be achieved within a certain period.
Bangladesh introduced the "five-year development plan" in July 1973, which continued until 2002. Later, the first PRSP was adopted in July 2005 by the BNP-led four-party alliance government.
The country has already completed the first PRSP period in FY2008 and introduced another one for three years from FY2009 to FY2011.
After completion of the first five-year development plan in FY1977, the government had adopted a two-year development plan (1978-1980).
In July 1980, the five-year plan was reintroduced (1980-85) again and since then two five-year plans were implemented in succession. The fourth five-year plan ended in 1995.
For the next two years (1995-97) development administration proceeded on an ad-hoc basis. Then came the fifth five-year development plan from July 1997.
A high profile meeting of the government to formulate the "sixth five-year plan" will be held today (Wednesday) for introducing a fresh guideline for the country's development plans and policy, officials said Wednesday.
The meeting will be presided over by the planning minister AK Khandakar while economic affairs adviser to the Prime Minister Mashiur Rahman and secretaries of different ministries would contribute their inputs for the preparation of the proposed development document.
"The steering committee, headed by AK Khandakar, will frame the development plan based on a concept note. The planning ministry has already prepared the concept paper," a top government official told the FE.
The 21-member steering committee on preparation of the 6th five-year plan would sit for the first time at the planning ministry in the city.
The government has also formed another panel of economists, headed by senior economist Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud to assist the steering committee in finalising the country's proposed development plan and policy document.
The newly elected Awami League-led government has decided to reintroduce the five-year development plan from the financial year 2010-11.
Another official in the government said the proposed sixth five-year plan would be different from the past five-year plans, discontinued since 2002.
"The document will not consist of development plans only, it will also have some policy guidelines for boosting the country's economy and ensure a hunger-free nation," he said.
In the concept note for the proposed 6th five-year development plan, the planning ministry has set a target of bringing down the poverty rate to 15 per cent by the year 2021 from the existing 40 per cent, the official said.
He said the steering committee members in Wednesday's meeting would give their suggestions, which would be incorporated in the final document of the development plan.
The government would formulate the five-year plan which would be followed for the country's development between the financial year 2010-11 and 2014-15.
A planning ministry official said the development plan would be framed in line with the election manifesto of the government.
After discontinuing the five-year plan in 2002, Bangladesh introduced donor-advised poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) in July 2005 where the country has a target to achieve the millennium development goals (MDGs) by the year 2015.
Due to criticism from different quarters on the shortfalls in the ongoing PRSP, the newly elected government has taken the initiative to change the nation's public investment policy after seven-year absence of the five-year plan.
The critics including development activists and political leaders say the PRSP, not a homegrown document, has failed to ensure an inclusive and sustainable development of the country as it has no well-organised long-term goals, to be achieved within a certain period.
Bangladesh introduced the "five-year development plan" in July 1973, which continued until 2002. Later, the first PRSP was adopted in July 2005 by the BNP-led four-party alliance government.
The country has already completed the first PRSP period in FY2008 and introduced another one for three years from FY2009 to FY2011.
After completion of the first five-year development plan in FY1977, the government had adopted a two-year development plan (1978-1980).
In July 1980, the five-year plan was reintroduced (1980-85) again and since then two five-year plans were implemented in succession. The fourth five-year plan ended in 1995.
For the next two years (1995-97) development administration proceeded on an ad-hoc basis. Then came the fifth five-year development plan from July 1997.