& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Free Service Cannot Serve the People — Chief Executive, ASA

An Interview by Sharier Khan
CHIEF Executive of ASA Md Shafiqul Ha que Chowdhury in an interview with The Daily Star -aid that the country could have had alleviated poverty lot g ago if all poverty alleviation programmes were op. rated on commercial basis
"Free service cannot serve the people, therefore no development can take place. I personally believe so. far we took a soft approach towards poverty alleviation which has rather retarded the development we had intended to do,’’ Chowdhury said.
"Welfare and grant have been damaging for the poor. If poverty alleviation programmes were conducted on a sustainable commercial basis — which means the development agencies would raise their own expenditure from their operation by benefltting the target groups — the poor would have become self reliant within 10 years." he pointed out.
Refuting an allegation that the poverty alleviation programmes of different NGOs were failing to achieve target j. he said, "With feawiS-
eptions, the ASA poverty alle viation programmes which be».an from 1990. had been successful."
"To alleviate poverty, il is vital that the poor can generate their own income. If a poorman is capable of generating his own income, he can gradually improve his own health and education situation. When such a poor person takes a loan of Tk 3000 from ASA. It Is a Tk 3000 profit for him because he does not have to pay double this amour: ’hlch he would have had. if he had taken the loan from a traditional loan shark," Chowdhury noted.
“Since the loans are given on the basis of the current market prices, the loanee faces no difficulty in implementing his project and returning his loans to the ASA." he added.
In addition, the 90 to 95 per cent ASA field workers coi stantly supervise the implementation of the loans.
There has definitely been improvement among the rural poor. It may sound hard to believe, but the income of the ASA groups is increasing by 100 pee cent annually."
Chowdhury said.
Our poverty alleviation model Is sound. But dedication and close supervision of our workers made this model really work. Now many countries are following this model." he pointed out.
Presently we have cut down taking donors' support. Our target is to attain self reliance. we would not be needing donors' support after five years. I believe. Chowdhury concluded.
Within five years. ASA may become a Development Finance Institution (DF1) from an NGO."