Implementing SSNPs the PKSF way

People who live on less than $ 1.25 a day are considered the absolute or extreme poor. It is estimated that globally 1.22 billion people are absolute poor and, of them, 842 million people are suffering from chronic hunger. That means they are not having enough food to lead active and regular life. Reducing poverty of these poor is considered one of the prime tasks of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG). Reduction of poverty of the absolute poor has turned out to be a tough job for countries experiencing increased exposure to disasters and climate change and also affected by the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC). Around 130 countries across the globe are introducing Social Safety Net Programmes (SSNPs) as an essential component of the poverty reduction strategy. SSNPs are non-contributory transfers provided to the absolute poor living in different forms of deprivation. Mostly these transfers are provided by governments in cash or kind. Over the last two decades enormous innovations have taken place to make SSNPs effective in reducing the vulnerability of the poor.
Initially focused on only protecting the absolute poor, the SSNPs are now increasingly targeting achievement of sustainable development goals through implementation of food and nutrition-based programmes, cash transfer, skill development training and inclusive financing programmes. Available data shows, on an average, spending on safety nets accounts for 1 to 2 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product) in developing countries. However, in most cases the SSNPs tend to rely on intervention for poverty reduction on an ad-hoc basis.
Bangladesh is a densely-populated and disaster-prone country, where 31.5 per cent people live in poverty. Out of that, 17.5 per cent are extreme poor who take less than 1,805 kilocalories a day and protected by SSNPs. Safety net programmes in Bangladesh are administered through a number of ministries, non-governmental organisations and international, bilateral and multilateral partners. Bangladesh is currently running nearly 90 SSNPs under 20 ministries. The SSNPs involve Tk 254 billion, which is 2.13 per cent of the country's total GDP.
The budgetary allocation for SSNPs has gone up in the country over the years. SSNPs in Bangladesh focus on programmes aimed at employment generation, facing natural disasters and other shocks, incentives on child education and improving livelihood and health status. The assessment indicates that the SSNPs in Bangladesh have led to increased school enrolment and attendance, especially among girls. They have also reduced the gender gap, generated additional employment, ensured food security during any crisis period and increased access to utilisation of maternal and child healthcare services.
The new budget for the fiscal year 2014-15 has been announced by the government. It is clear that poverty reduction is the topmost priority in the budget as was on previous occasions. Allocations for the SSNPs have been enhanced by 23 per cent than that in the revised budget for the FY 2013-14. But in Bangladesh the SSNPs have some inbuilt problems since the inception. The Finance Minister did not clearly state the total outlay and the number of targeted people under SSNPs unlike the previous budgets. Before implementation of SSNPs in the forthcoming fiscal years we have to identify these inherent problems and necessary measures need to be taken.
The SSNPs in Bangladesh face the problem of wrong selection and biasness. Many genuine poor are excluded from the SSNPs, as vested-interest groups are involved in the selection process. Thus the allegation of nepotism and corruption in selecting the programme beneficiaries cannot be ignored. Studies reveal that due to inadequate programme monitoring, the leakages and misallocations may go undetected, especially in food-based and cash-based SSNPs. A fragmented bureaucratic set-up coupled with corruption and irregularities also take a toll on the schemes. There are also frequent overlaps between programmes and inadequate coordination across implementing agencies and stakeholders and these have been observed for a long period of time. The absence of a proper and systematic evaluation process dilutes policy formulation. An increase in per capita allocation is much more important than expanding the number of programmes and the number of beneficiaries. The government should categorically identify the target people and the implementing agencies and improve the monitoring system before finalising a national strategy on SSNPs.
The government of Bangladesh established the Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) for employment generation. The PKSF launched the Programmed Initiative for Monga Eradication (PRIME) in 2006 aiming to supplement the government's efforts to eradicate Monga or seasonal unemployment from the Ragpur division, the most vulnerable and poverty-stricken region in the country. After the devastating cyclones SIDR and Aila that struck the country the PRIME has been extended to 156 unions under 15 upazilas in the southwestern part of the country. The selection of right households is one of the features of this programme. The target group have been selected through census and based on specific selection criteria. For example, any household having the income level of less than Tk 4,000 or having one earning member as a day labourer and owning 50 decimals of land or less is eligible for becoming a beneficiary of the programme. A benchmark study by an independent institution acknowledges the accuracy of targeting the households under the programme. At present, comprehensive data on around 513,000 poor are available. Cash for work, skill development training for income generation, awareness programme to cope with disasters, flexible savings and credit, health services, capacity building of implementing agencies, and cost-effective and climate-friendly technology transfer have been brought under the programme for sustainable development.
Having observed the problem of monitoring on other SSNPs, the PKSF introduced Result Based Monitoring (RBM) for PRIME in 2010. The RBM helps find the actual implementation status of the original plan under the programme. An independent research organisation has found that the average monthly income of programme participants increased by more than 100 per cent from the baseline. It has also found that 97 per cent households under the PRIME got employment opportunities during the Monga period and 82 per cent were fully food-secure. Health-related expenditure has declined and productivity of the programme participants increased due to integration of health services in the programme.
It seems the government of Bangladesh is trying to make SSNPs more effective, target-oriented and pro-poor. Thus, a programmatic approach, right selection criteria, demand-driven skill training, credit support apart from non-financial services and regular effective monitoring are the keys to sustainable SSNPs as happened in the event of PRIME of the PKSF.
The writer is General Manager of PKSF and the views expressed here are the author's own.
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