Rural poverty and underdevelopment
Mozzamel Haque | Monday, 26 May 2008
THERE is pressing need for significant transfer of resources to rural areas that have comparatively higher concentration of people. About 80 per cent of Bangladeshis have a rural existence and the majority of them remain below the poverty line. Besides, the rural areas of the country are also the least developed in sharp contrast to the urban areas. Thus, there is a powerful case indeed to take far greater developmental initiatives in the rural areas and it is in this sphere that the government perhaps has the most important role to play.
In respect of poverty alleviation activities, the government here has a participatory role through its own micro-credit giving organisation as well as other programmes designed to mitigate the sufferings from extreme poverty. The non-governmental organisation (NGOs) are also doing a reasonable job in extending micro-credits and carrying out of multi-faceted programmes to address the problems of poverty.
But the government can do a great deal more to accelerate developmental activities in the rural areas. For this purpose, it should be willing to channel far greater resources into the rural areas to expressly build supporting infrastructures for the rural economy. The coming national budget should aim to shift greater resources to rural areas. But the same ought to be truly spent for the uplift of the rural economy. In the past, the same were not quite properly used largely on the ground of satisfying political activists and other cronies of the incumbents in power than going entirely, in terms of both quality and volume, into actual projects like road building, training programmes, irrigation projects, new agricultural products with an export dimension, etc., that only can justify the greater spending in the rural areas.
The government must not only be resolved to build infrastructures in the rural areas, it should also decide to create a strong local government system also to that end. As it is, there is hardly any good local governance at the grassroots level from the indecisiveness of successive governments about what model of local government to select finally . The pressing need is to overcome this indecisiveness at the fastest in a fair and open-minded manner and, more significantly, to empower and enable the local bodies to receive and spend much greater funds with a vision to help the real progress of the rural economy.
Public spending on literacy and primary and secondary education in the rural areas is not meager but the same also needs to further increase for a wider impact. No less important is the accountable and, hence, effective spending of the resources for education in the rural areas. Special initiatives need to be also taken by the government to set up skill training centres extensively throughout the rural areas to create manpower suitable for economic activities.
All governmental policies pursued in the rural areas will have to be integrated and geared to the main strategy of 'sustainable poverty alleviation and development.' The same will call for good implementation of policies designed to prevent those -- who overcome poverty -- from sliding back into poverty. Rural insurance, price support, laws to frustrate distress sale of assets, etc., can be very useful in helping the rural people to consolidate their economic gains.
In respect of poverty alleviation activities, the government here has a participatory role through its own micro-credit giving organisation as well as other programmes designed to mitigate the sufferings from extreme poverty. The non-governmental organisation (NGOs) are also doing a reasonable job in extending micro-credits and carrying out of multi-faceted programmes to address the problems of poverty.
But the government can do a great deal more to accelerate developmental activities in the rural areas. For this purpose, it should be willing to channel far greater resources into the rural areas to expressly build supporting infrastructures for the rural economy. The coming national budget should aim to shift greater resources to rural areas. But the same ought to be truly spent for the uplift of the rural economy. In the past, the same were not quite properly used largely on the ground of satisfying political activists and other cronies of the incumbents in power than going entirely, in terms of both quality and volume, into actual projects like road building, training programmes, irrigation projects, new agricultural products with an export dimension, etc., that only can justify the greater spending in the rural areas.
The government must not only be resolved to build infrastructures in the rural areas, it should also decide to create a strong local government system also to that end. As it is, there is hardly any good local governance at the grassroots level from the indecisiveness of successive governments about what model of local government to select finally . The pressing need is to overcome this indecisiveness at the fastest in a fair and open-minded manner and, more significantly, to empower and enable the local bodies to receive and spend much greater funds with a vision to help the real progress of the rural economy.
Public spending on literacy and primary and secondary education in the rural areas is not meager but the same also needs to further increase for a wider impact. No less important is the accountable and, hence, effective spending of the resources for education in the rural areas. Special initiatives need to be also taken by the government to set up skill training centres extensively throughout the rural areas to create manpower suitable for economic activities.
All governmental policies pursued in the rural areas will have to be integrated and geared to the main strategy of 'sustainable poverty alleviation and development.' The same will call for good implementation of policies designed to prevent those -- who overcome poverty -- from sliding back into poverty. Rural insurance, price support, laws to frustrate distress sale of assets, etc., can be very useful in helping the rural people to consolidate their economic gains.