Setting 100-day employment programme on right track
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
The government, according to the food and disaster management minister, is mulling the restart of the 100-day Employment Generation Programme (EGP) meant for the hardcore poor, seasonal unemployed people and marginal farmers from the next fiscal to help them out during the lean periods. The Tk. 20 billion EGP was introduced by the immediate past caretaker government in line with a similar programme now in operation in neighbouring India in September last year. However, the programme was suspended after two months following detection of large corruption and irregularities in the selection of beneficiaries and distribution of money under it.
Under the EGP, each of the beneficiaries is entitled to receive Tk 100 a day for his/her work. If the unemployed people registered under the programme cannot be given appropriate jobs within 15 days from the issuance of cards, they would receive Tk 40 daily for 30 days and Tk 50 daily for rest of the remaining days of the programme. Since corruption and irregularities have been detected in the implementation of the EGP, the government, as stated by the food minister at a function jointly organised by his ministry and the World Bank early this week in Dhaka, was looking into transparency and accountability aspects of the programme before its restart. This is, no doubt, a correct approach on the part of the food ministry since no government worth its name should allow misappropriation of scare resources allocated to mitigate the financial sufferings of the poorest of the poor.
However, unfortunately, corruption and irregularities with government funds allocated to projects and programmes, be those at the national or local levels, have been rampant since long. But unearthing of large-scale irregularities with subsidy money or funds meant for 100-day programme during the rule of the last caretaker government that declared a war on corruption might come as a surprise to some people. But it would be rather unusual to expect a clean run of a public sector programme having large monetary involvement in the Bangladesh society where corruption is very much systemic. Corruption and irregularities with public funds have been usual phenomena under any government, political or otherwise. There could have been some variations in the scale of such criminal acts. Allegations of irregularities in the implementation of food for work and test relief programmes at the field level were galore in the past.
It is heartening to note that the present government is trying to ensure transparency and accountability in the implementation of the EGP programme. Besides putting in place an effective system of monitoring the programme, the government must ensure that the benefit reaches the people who need it most and political consideration does not play any part in it. The provision for the issuance of cards to the unemployed people registered under the programme does leave some room for foul play at the field level. The government might consider the use of the National Identity Cards (NIDs) for the purpose since only adult unemployed people are supposed to be covered under the EGP. What the agencies concerned would be required to do is to make a list of eligible beneficiaries and collect the photocopies of their NIDs before providing them with seasonal employment. However, a cross-check at the implementation stage might prove really helpful in stopping misuse of EGP fund.
Under the EGP, each of the beneficiaries is entitled to receive Tk 100 a day for his/her work. If the unemployed people registered under the programme cannot be given appropriate jobs within 15 days from the issuance of cards, they would receive Tk 40 daily for 30 days and Tk 50 daily for rest of the remaining days of the programme. Since corruption and irregularities have been detected in the implementation of the EGP, the government, as stated by the food minister at a function jointly organised by his ministry and the World Bank early this week in Dhaka, was looking into transparency and accountability aspects of the programme before its restart. This is, no doubt, a correct approach on the part of the food ministry since no government worth its name should allow misappropriation of scare resources allocated to mitigate the financial sufferings of the poorest of the poor.
However, unfortunately, corruption and irregularities with government funds allocated to projects and programmes, be those at the national or local levels, have been rampant since long. But unearthing of large-scale irregularities with subsidy money or funds meant for 100-day programme during the rule of the last caretaker government that declared a war on corruption might come as a surprise to some people. But it would be rather unusual to expect a clean run of a public sector programme having large monetary involvement in the Bangladesh society where corruption is very much systemic. Corruption and irregularities with public funds have been usual phenomena under any government, political or otherwise. There could have been some variations in the scale of such criminal acts. Allegations of irregularities in the implementation of food for work and test relief programmes at the field level were galore in the past.
It is heartening to note that the present government is trying to ensure transparency and accountability in the implementation of the EGP programme. Besides putting in place an effective system of monitoring the programme, the government must ensure that the benefit reaches the people who need it most and political consideration does not play any part in it. The provision for the issuance of cards to the unemployed people registered under the programme does leave some room for foul play at the field level. The government might consider the use of the National Identity Cards (NIDs) for the purpose since only adult unemployed people are supposed to be covered under the EGP. What the agencies concerned would be required to do is to make a list of eligible beneficiaries and collect the photocopies of their NIDs before providing them with seasonal employment. However, a cross-check at the implementation stage might prove really helpful in stopping misuse of EGP fund.