August 17, 2005

Bangladesh and PRSP


The general goal of the PRSP is to reduce poverty in phases so much so that by 2015 this global social scourge may be cut by half. This is also the grand aim of the UN as articulated through its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The global financial institution like the World Bank (WB), which is a major provider of development assistance to the developing economies and the LDCs, does also emphasize poverty reduction and hence preparation of the PRSP as a condition for receiving its development assistance. Which in other words means that the international donors, both bilateral and multilateral, have shifted significantly from their earlier focus on growth and development.

The failure of the previous model of development has forced the international donor community to rethink its strategy for development in the Third World. As a result, the issue of addressing poverty separately as a precondition for development and growth has now returned to center stage in development thinking. Hence the necessity of preparing the PRSP by countries like Bangladesh, still depending on donor assistance to plan their national budgets and implement their development activities.

The lead consultant of the anti-poverty document, however, has assured the nation that the PRSP has taken into account the real situation in the country as well as the problems of the ultra poor, urban poor, rights of the indigenous people, land and technology as required by the donors. The question of addressing the unique conditions of poverty in the Bangladesh society is pertinent to any poverty-reduction strategy in the local context, as the country has its own history of poverty. People's lack of access to social and state resources, poor governance, lack of transparency and accountability and pervasive corruption in the administration have their deleterious impact on the prospect for development in Bangladesh. Poverty is therefore directly related to these negative factors prejudicing the country's development efforts.

In this context, the whole gamut of development issues merits a very careful consideration at the time of finalizing the PRSP in order to map out a poor-friendly development path for Bangladesh.

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