The government should evaluate and assess the impact of annual expenditure under the social safety net programmes to ensure transparency and accountability.

Impact assessment is also needed to measure the efficacy of the programmes that are designed to help the poor to come out of poverty.

The call came at a dialogue at the Cirdap auditorium on the allocation on safety nets and related sectors. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on ultra poor organised the event, focusing on the upcoming budget fo r fiscal year 2011-12.

Lawmakers, poverty analysts and NGO representatives spoke, along with Food and Disaster Management Minister Abdur Razzaque.

' 'There should be an assessment of the impact of expenditure," said Saber Hossain Chowdhury, chairman of the APPG on climate change and environment.

The dialogue suggested lawmakers' participation to ensure that public expenditure reaches the beneficiaries. They also urged the government to create a centralised database of ultra poor and specific programmes for them in the budget.

They also proposed a proper selection of the poor people, to reduce pilferage; location and time specific programmes; and an integrated approach under government and non-government collaboration to free the poor from

hunger.

Participants also suggested the government remove ambiguity over the definition of poverty related expenditure.

The government currently runs 84 programmes under SSNPs by allocating Tk 19,497 crore, which represents about 2.5 percent of gross domestic product and nearly 15 percent of the national budget. Different agencies and ministries run these schemes.

Chowdhury said lawmakers should monitor these schemes to see whether the money is spent properly.

Razzaque said the level of poverty

has dropped to 31.5 percent in the last decade.

“There are many aspects of poverty. If we increase allocation for education and health care, there will be a greater impact.”

The minister favours integrated programmes, involving all components, to help the poor people graduate.

Lawmaker Israfil Alam, chairman of APPG, presided over the session. Lawmakers Shahriar Alam, Mustaque Ahmed Ruhi, Zunaid Ahmed Palak and Fahmida Khatun, head of research of Centre for Policy Dialogue, also spoke.