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NEC okays PRSP

STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The National Economic Council (NEC) yesterday approved the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) entitled “Unlocking the Potential: National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction” at the eighth meeting of the council presided over by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia at the NEC conference room in the capital.
The 400-page PRSP worked out indicators for monitoring and evaluation of poverty reduction strategy.
The PRSP also featured a policy matrix of the government's future programmes including complete separation of the judiciary from the executive, establishment of a human rights commission, reconsidering setting up a central bonded warehouse, hiring talented people for top level public administrative positions from outside the government by 2007.
Out of 14 percent resources of the GDP a year that is needed for the implementation of the programmes under the PRSP, ten percent will be mobilised internally while the rest four percent will be managed from external sources, Planning and Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman told the reporters after the NEC meeting.
The government in March 2003 formulated an interim PRSP in line with suggestions of the donors that has subsequently resulted in the formulation of the full-fledged PRSP.
Meanwhile, of the three-year tenure (from Fiscal Year 04-05 to FY 06-07) of the PRSP, nearly one and a half years have already passed by.
Hossain Zillur Rahman, an economist associated with the PRSP design, said there will be an annual review of the outcome on the basis of the indicators suggested in the PRSP and the first review will be done in the next month.
In the PRSP, the government commits to put in a mechanism to attract talents for senior government positions from within and outside the government.
The PRSP also makes a number of other pledges including introduction of online tendering process, holding upazila and zila parishad elections, providing extra ADP budgetary support to better performing union councils etc.
The World Bank's funding in the PRSP will be conditional on the government's implementing the commitments under it.
The PRSP document shows projected expenses for some of the programmes, such as, $12.12 billion for primary school programme, Tk 161 billion for school lunch programme and $343.8 million for sanitation programme during 11 years from 2005 to 2015. However, the document has not specifically said anything about the sources to meet the cost of implementing the PRSP.
BSS adds: Prime Minister Khaleda Zia said the PRSP is the document of the government's development plan to ensure social stability, economic growth and poverty reduction.
The formulation of PRSP does not mean the end of poverty, but a primary and remarkable step toward removing poverty, she added.
The PRSP has been adopted in line with the objectives of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Bangladesh by 2015, she said, adding that her government is committed to attaining the MDGs by that time.
Bangladesh has already achieved significant progress in various fields of poverty reduction, but there is no scope for complacency and the PRSP has taken into consideration the need for making multi-dimensional approach to remove widespread poverty, Khaleda said.
UNB adds: Expressing her government's will to translate PRSP into a great charter of rights of the
poor, the prime minister asked all concerned to work sincerely to implement its provisions for transforming Bangladesh into an abode of peace and plenty for all.
The PM said key objective of her government's development programmes is quick alleviation of poverty, ensuring people's overall socio-economic development.
The PRSP has been formulated fully on “our own initiative” and through massive participation of all stakeholders, she noted.