The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

Renowned economist Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud yesterday suggested making the 100-days employment generation programme a long- term strategic plan for ensuring permanent livelihood for the hardcore poor.

Terming the 100-day programme as the largest initiative of the government for the poor, the economist said the employment generation plan needs to be conceptualized in broad-based consultations with stakeholders to materialize its ultimate aim.

The former finance adviser was presiding over a national workshop on '100- day of Employment Generation: Implementation Opportunities and Challenges' organized by the Power and Participation Research Center (PPRC) in cooperation with the World Bank (WB) at LGED auditorium here.

Agriculture Adviser Dr CS Karim spoke at the function as the chief guest while Commerce Adviser Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman was the guest of honour.

PPRC Executive Director KM Eshanul Huq gave the welcome speech while joint secretary of the Ministry of Finance Arastoo Khan presented a keynote paper on the employment programme in the workshop. Adviser to foreign minister of the government of the India Dr Shubhashish Gongadhyay and Michal Rutkowski of the WB spoke as designated discussants.

Citing an identical employment generation programme in India, the economist said the structure of social services in that country is totally different from those in Bangladesh. He said Indian is more advanced in employment generation while social safety net programme (SSNP) in Bangladesh is finer.

He criticized the role of Bangladeshi non government organizations (NGOs) for their failure in organizing the disadvantaged and said the NGOs in India are very much keen to raise the voices of the grassroots people through social movement.

Adviser CS Karim described the 100-day employment generation plan as an innovative one and said the social safety net scaling up scheme should be based on poverty by identifying the large section of targeted hardcore poor.

The adviser suggested integrating 10,000 rural embankments, irrigation structures and the fisheries sector into the employment-generating plan along with a large section of the people.

Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman stressed the need for continuous attention of the government and donor agencies to the SSNP for ensuring food security.

He said social protection is the key component of any the development efforts of the government that includes rural land, rural schooling, urbanization, climate change and river erosion.

"The government have undertaken a number of initiatives to expand the safety net programme," said the commerce adviser.

Arastoo Khan, in his keynote paper, said in the fiscal year 2008-09 the government has allocated 16.4 percent or about 3 percent of the GDP for the SSNP.

The main objective of the 100-day employment generation programme is to help the hardcore people retain purchasing capacity in the face of high inflation rate by creating job opportunities for them, he said.

The programme will create employment opportunities for 20 lakh hardcore poor during mid-October to mid-January and mid- March to mid-May periods.

Dr Shubhashish Gongadhyay highlighted the Indian experiences of employment generation in the workshop and said it should keep in mind that distribution of pre-determined wages among the hardcore people might lead to higher inflation.

Michal Rutkowski said a number of issues like rural education, healthcare, empowerment of women should get priority in the employment programme for effectiveness of the SSNP.