Achieving MDGs
More budgetary allocation for farming, power, local govt
Says finance adviser
Star Business Report
The finance and planning adviser has spelt out the plan to up budgetary allocation for the sectors that impact the achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).The sectors under the planned increased allocation are agriculture, electricity and local government, he said. "We want to increase the proportion in local government because it is nearer to people...agriculture creates huge employment opportunities... and the electricity sector is the poor performer for many years," Mirza Azizul Islam told a 3-day workshop in Dhaka yesterday. World Bank Institute and Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) jointly organised the workshop on 'Towards Achieving MDGs: Role of Institutions in Bangladesh' at the LGED auditorium. Azizul said, "China is investing 50 per cent of its GDP for achieving MDGs, whereas Bangladesh invests 26 per cent for this purpose, that is why investment in this area should be increased." World Bank (WB) Country Director in Bangladesh Xian Zhu said Bangladesh has been doing very well in economic field, however, economic growth is not the single indicator of development. He said, "Bangladesh has the capacity to achieve MDGs, but it needs to ensure transparency of the sectors that are associated in achieving the targets." He also emphasised accountability in service delivery, public-private initiatives as well as institutional capacity building for reaching the MDGs. Lauding successes in a few sectors like health and education, the WB official said poverty rate has come down here to 40 per cent in 2007 from 49 percent in 2000. To achieve MDGs by 2015, resolving urban problems is urgent, Xian Zhu said, lamenting that although the country witnessed a massive urban growth in the last 10 years, the slum people in the urban areas are still out of basic services, such as education and water supply. The institutional constraints should be removed, especially for development of the urban areas, he suggested. Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman, PPRC, Quazi Mesbahuddin Ahmed, a former member of the planning commission, also spoke at the inaugural function. Resource persons from different sectors are attending the workshop, divided into ten sessions.
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