Several causes confronting selection of beneficiaries

Corruption, political influence, poor monitoring and lack of coordination are confronting proper selection of poor people for getting the benefits under social safety net programme (SSNP), said speakers at a meeting on Saturday in the capital.
They suggested that the process of selecting the vulnerable (poor) people for getting the benefits under SSNP should be streamlined for their betterment.
They said the poor and ultra-poor people were not getting the full benefits of the SSNP especially the Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF), Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) and Employment Generation Programme for the Poorest (EGPP) mainly due to mismanagement, corruption and lack of coordination among the ministries and divisions on the implementing process.
They were of the view that there should be combined guidelines for achieving the targeted results of SSNP.   
Their observations came at the meeting on "Present Status and Way Forward of Social Safety Net Programme in Light of Social Audit" at AS Mahmud seminar hall of the Daily Star office in the capital.
Chairman of Palli Karma Shahayak Foundation (PKSF) Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad presided over the meeting.  
Coordinator of Campaign for Food for All (Sobar Jonno Khadya Procharabijan) Kaniz Fatema presented a key-note paper.
Convener of Governance Coalition and Executive Director of Wave Foundation Mohsin Ali delivered the address of welcome and moderated the event.  
The Governance Coalition, a platform of non-government organisations, and Lok Morcha carried out a social audit on VGD, VGF and EGPP from January 2013 to January 2015 to get the real picture of their proper implementation at the field level of 14 unions of different divisions.
The findings (social audit) showed that sometimes the beneficiaries could not get food and cash as per the allocation.
It also found that in many cases the real poor people were not selected due to mismanagement or corruption while implementing the SSNP.
Prof MM Akash of Economics Department of Dhaka University suggested increasing the growth through inclusive economy so that government could fulfil all basic rights of the poor.
Member of general economics division of Planning Commission Prof Shamul Alam said National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) will be finalised next month which will ensure vulnerable people's rights.
Senior research fellow of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Dr Naznin Ahmed stressed the need for the involvement of private sector side by side with the government to alleviate poverty through proper implementation of SSNP.    
Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad said the number of ultra poor people has declined over the years, and it should be reduced more.
He said that becoming a middle-income country does not mean that the life standards of all people are the same.
He observed that lack of coordination was hindering the proper implementation of SSNP, thus depriving the poor of their rights.  
The findings suggested formulation and implementation of a coordinated social safety net programme based on the light of rights, preparation of flawless lists of poor people at unions, pourashavas and city corporations.
Implementation of all social safety net programmes of different ministries and divisions should be monitored by a single ministry and enactment of the Food Rights Act is necessary to ensure staple for all.  
Rifat Amin, standing committee member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and Kamrunnessa Nazli, policy officer of Oxfam-GB, among others, were present.
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