Social safety net programmes fail to reduce poverty
Friday, 20 May 2011
M Mizanur Rahman
When nations concentrate more on adopting Social Safety Net Programmes and less on its proper implementation, some opportunists take the benefit and the targeted people remain where they were. In these days of price hike of essential commodities, especially of food, the poor are losing their ability to meet other demands, while spending their entire earnings on the purchase of food. Now the question is to what extent the SSNP can support the poor. Are these poor people getting the benefit of these programmes? Though the aim of SSNP is benevolent, it lost its appeal and utility to the poor. The advocates of such programmes consider these as means of ensuring that the benefits of economic growth are shared widely among the population. While the critics of the initiative claim that a developing country should not indulge in compromising economic growth. Again, some argue that it is just a weapon of the capitalist system through which one tries to prove that one is doing something good for the poor. So, the poor people should remain patient and satisfied. In our country these benevolent programmes had delivered nothing to the poor, rather it fed the local political leaders. Corruption has engulfed the SSNP programme in such a way that it never reaches the poor. Even government officials are obliged to obey the local political leaders while making list of eligible recipients of the benefits, otherwise, it is impossible for them to continue with their job in the area. Who wishes to go against the wishes of the high and the mighty? Thus often, these officials do not take the risk and allow the political leaders to do whatever they wish and remain satisfied with a piece of the pie. However, some officials are highly dissatisfied and frustrated with the pathetic situation prevailing in the country. Again, when the government tells the officials to prepare the list of eligible people with the consent of the MP, it creates the scope for the political leaders to take it as a business enterprise. In most of the UPs no one is enlisted without a bribe. And in many places the situation is grave. The UP members take non-refundable bribes from many people who are not eligible for the facility and among those some are given cards and many others return empty handed. In the northern region of the country, the situation is frustrating. The poor people pay between Tk 2,000 and Tk 3,000 as bribe to the local UP members for enlistment. They usually borrow the money from the local money lenders with a high interest rate. If there is no strong political will of the government and sincere and honest local government in place, the fate of the poor people will not change at all. According to a World Bank (WB) study, at least 27 per cent of VGD beneficiaries are not poor. Many now fear that the percentage may cross 90 per cent. A VGD card holder (not all deserving) is given 30 kg of rice per month for a period of two years. So, a huge amount of resources allocated for the programme is wasted. Again, an old person is given between Tk 300 and Tk 500 per month which is not sufficient to buy even medicines for them. So, how can these allowances eradicate poverty? The deserving beneficiary group is now frustrated and the trust gap between the government and common people is increasing alarmingly. And the way the common people are losing faith on the political leaders has become a threat to our nascent democracy. Now it is high time our policymakers thought about the effectiveness of the entire Social Safety Net Programme and give the poor some scope for income generation by providing credit support and training. In fine, it can be said that the SSNP is doing very little to change the lot of the poor, rather it is destroying the poor of the country. The writer is a Development Researcher and a Programme Officer at Islamic Relief Worldwide. He can be reached: mithunmds07@gmail.com
When nations concentrate more on adopting Social Safety Net Programmes and less on its proper implementation, some opportunists take the benefit and the targeted people remain where they were. In these days of price hike of essential commodities, especially of food, the poor are losing their ability to meet other demands, while spending their entire earnings on the purchase of food. Now the question is to what extent the SSNP can support the poor. Are these poor people getting the benefit of these programmes? Though the aim of SSNP is benevolent, it lost its appeal and utility to the poor. The advocates of such programmes consider these as means of ensuring that the benefits of economic growth are shared widely among the population. While the critics of the initiative claim that a developing country should not indulge in compromising economic growth. Again, some argue that it is just a weapon of the capitalist system through which one tries to prove that one is doing something good for the poor. So, the poor people should remain patient and satisfied. In our country these benevolent programmes had delivered nothing to the poor, rather it fed the local political leaders. Corruption has engulfed the SSNP programme in such a way that it never reaches the poor. Even government officials are obliged to obey the local political leaders while making list of eligible recipients of the benefits, otherwise, it is impossible for them to continue with their job in the area. Who wishes to go against the wishes of the high and the mighty? Thus often, these officials do not take the risk and allow the political leaders to do whatever they wish and remain satisfied with a piece of the pie. However, some officials are highly dissatisfied and frustrated with the pathetic situation prevailing in the country. Again, when the government tells the officials to prepare the list of eligible people with the consent of the MP, it creates the scope for the political leaders to take it as a business enterprise. In most of the UPs no one is enlisted without a bribe. And in many places the situation is grave. The UP members take non-refundable bribes from many people who are not eligible for the facility and among those some are given cards and many others return empty handed. In the northern region of the country, the situation is frustrating. The poor people pay between Tk 2,000 and Tk 3,000 as bribe to the local UP members for enlistment. They usually borrow the money from the local money lenders with a high interest rate. If there is no strong political will of the government and sincere and honest local government in place, the fate of the poor people will not change at all. According to a World Bank (WB) study, at least 27 per cent of VGD beneficiaries are not poor. Many now fear that the percentage may cross 90 per cent. A VGD card holder (not all deserving) is given 30 kg of rice per month for a period of two years. So, a huge amount of resources allocated for the programme is wasted. Again, an old person is given between Tk 300 and Tk 500 per month which is not sufficient to buy even medicines for them. So, how can these allowances eradicate poverty? The deserving beneficiary group is now frustrated and the trust gap between the government and common people is increasing alarmingly. And the way the common people are losing faith on the political leaders has become a threat to our nascent democracy. Now it is high time our policymakers thought about the effectiveness of the entire Social Safety Net Programme and give the poor some scope for income generation by providing credit support and training. In fine, it can be said that the SSNP is doing very little to change the lot of the poor, rather it is destroying the poor of the country. The writer is a Development Researcher and a Programme Officer at Islamic Relief Worldwide. He can be reached: mithunmds07@gmail.com