Home ›› 01 May 2023 ›› Front
Bangladesh has 33 lakh senior citizens and 25 lakh widows who are eligible for the government’s Social Safety Net Programme (SSNP), but they remain non-beneficiaries while an ineligible segment is pocketing Tk 1,500 crore annually.
One in every three beneficiaries currently under the SSNP does not meet the income and asset ownership eligibility, due to the poor targets, nepotism among union parishad chairmen and members, and administrative weakness, reveals a Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) study.
The country’s biggest think-tank revealed the findings at an event titled, “How to improve coverage and effectiveness of Social Safety Net Programmes,” organised by the CPD and Christian Aid at the capital’s Brac Centre on Sunday.
It proposed an increase of allowance for all eligible senior citizens and widows to 2,500, and a hike of education stipend to Tk 2,000 taking into account the ongoing inflationary pressure, to ensure nutrition for all and achieve the government’s development goals.
On the issue of nutrition, the CPD study found that pulses and vegetables are the main sources of nutrition for SSNP allowance recipients in the country.
It points out that to accommodate the proposed allowance hike, the government will have to make additional allocations of up to Tk 90,000 crore annually to support the eligible existing and new beneficiaries under the SSNP, which can be financed by curbing tax losses.
In a previous study, the CPD had found that the country’s tax losses amount to as low as Tk 41,800 crore and as high as Tk 2,23,000 crore every year.
Prevention or protection against tax losses could contribute to social justice as this amount could be allocated for the benefits of eligible widows, senior citizens, and primary school-going children so that they can meet their needs.
Addressing the event as chief guest, President of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Social Welfare Rashed Khan Menon said, “There is no way to say that our country is not developed, but it is not developed in an inclusive way.
“The country is politically and economically trapped by a small group of rich people. Though poverty is decreasing, inequality is still rising. Social security should be considered a right and the programme should be increased to reduce inequality.”
However, the social security sector does not have the resources to increase allocations, and this can only be done if tax evasion is curbed, he added.
Rasheda K Choudhury, former advisor to the caretaker government, said, “The stipend for children is Tk 150, which is the same since 2015. Why isn’t the government adjusting the stipend in accordance with inflation and purchase capacity?
“The government can increase allocations through a reduction in violence against women, and tax evasion. The government should take up a mega project on human resource development, similar to infrastructural development projects.”
Scams using MFS prevalent
Rashed Khan Menon said, “The difficulties compounded due to the introduction of digital payment systems for transaction of allowance through mobile financial services (MFS). Some people who are involved in mobile banking are also involved in scams.
“There are advantages and disadvantages in the digital system too.”
Menon recommended that the government should address the loopholes, and introduce a detection process for targeting actual beneficiaries through fingerprints. Echoing the same, the CPD said beneficiaries are losing their allowance due to a lack of proper knowledge of digital transactions or online issues.
Parents pay up to Tk6,000 bribe
According to the CPD study, some parents of students claimed they had to pay bribes amounting to Tk 4,000 – Tk 6,000 to receive primary education stipends. They currently receive Tk 150 per child, for uniform, books and other academic materials.
The families also receive rice and wheat as support.
IMF against inclusion of pension spending
The visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation at a meeting with the finance division showed cold shoulder regarding the inclusion of pension spending in the Social Safety Net Programme, and it drew criticism from many quarters.
Addressing the matter, the CPD said the allocation shown in the budget documents for SSNP does not reflect actual government spending for those in need, and it is not a standard practice compared to the rest of the world.
CDP says the government includes the public sector pension in its allocation for SSNP to make it seem larger for earning a bit more appreciation.
In the budget for FY23, the government allocated Tk 1,13,576 crore for the SSNP, which is 16.75 per cent of the total budget and 2.55 per cent of the GDP. The total sum included Tk 28,370 crore earmarked for pension payment to public sector employees.
The CPD conducted this survey by gathering the opinions of 486 SSNP beneficiaries from 29 upazilas in 15 districts, under the country’s eight divisions. Among them, 108 are pensioners, 200 are widows or beneficiaries of spouses and 178 are primary school stipend beneficiaries.
