Youth orgs to get financial aid

The government approved on Monday the draft Youth Welfare Fund Act, 2015 with the provision of allocating financial support to the youth organisations to carry out their  activities for the betterment of the country's youth.
The approval was given at the regular cabinet meeting at the cabinet division of Bangladesh Secretariat. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over the meeting.
"Under the proposed act, the youth organisations would get financial support from the government to carry out activities in the areas of education, science, information technology, vocational training, art and culture and sports," cabinet secretary Muhammed Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told the journalists at the conference room of the cabinet division on the day.
He said the proposed law is a revised version of the existing Youth Welfare Fund Ordinance-1985 promulgated during the military regime of HM Ershad.
Earlier the apex court of the country in a verdict in 2010 declared the military rule illegal nullifying all laws and ordinances promulgated during the military regime.
However, according to the court order, the cabinet decided to revive the essential laws along with necessary updating and translating into Bangla.
Mr Bhuiyan said the fund will be operated under a two-tier management system.
He said there will be a selection committee. Secretary of the ministry of youth and sports will lead the committee with the responsibility to select the qualified youth organisations.  And a managing board headed by the minister of sports and youth in charge would give final approval.
Meanwhile, thirty-five more ministries and divisions signed Annual Performance Agreements (APAs) with the government on the day under the newly introduced Government Performance Management System (GPMS) for evaluation of their annual performance.
The agreements were signed between the cabinet division and the ministries and divisions concerned in the cabinet room of Bangladesh Secretariat prior to the cabinet meeting. Prime Minster Sheikh Hasina was present during the signing of the deals.
The cabinet secretary, on behalf of the Prime Minister, and the secretaries concerned, on behalf of their ministers, signed the agreements.
Under the agreements, the ministries at the beginning of a fiscal year would ascertain vision, mission and strategic goals in consistence with the development priorities of the government, long-term perspective plan, five-year plan and allocation and business and budgetary allocation of the ministries.
So far 45 ministries and divisions signed the agreements with the cabinet division for evaluating the performance of the officials annually.
As per the agreements, the government would monitor the execution of the development projects, programmes and activities of the ministries and divisions.
In the first phase, ten ministries and divisions came under such APA with the government on February 2, 2015.
talhabinhabib@yahoo.com