The government allocations for the social safety net programmes (SSNPs), a vital instrument to reach out the hardcore poor, may go down in the proposed budget for the next fiscal year in terms of the budget and the GDP.

As per a Finance Division draft proposal, the government may allocate Tk 212.40 billon to run the SSNPs in the 2012-13 fiscal year, which is 5.83 percent short of Tk 225.56 billion for the outgoing fiscal.

The proposed SSNP allocations would be 11.18 percent of the proposed Tk 1.90 trillion outlay for the next fiscal and 2.04 percent of the GDP, as per the draft paper of the upcoming budget.

The current fiscal’s Tk 225.56 billion SSNP allocations constitute 13.79 percent of the national budget and 2.51 percent of the GDP.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina approved a SSNP proposal of the Finance Division on May 13.

Ensuring social security of the poor and empowering them through employment generation are at the heart of all of the government’s poverty reduction agenda, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said at a recently cabinet meeting on SSNP.

In the meeting he also said the number of the poor lactating mothers as well as widowed, divorced and distressed women beneficiaries will be increased under the SSNPs from next fiscal. But SSNP allocation doesn’t show any sign of raising the number of beneficiaries.

According to the draft paper, of the total SSNP outlay, Tk 173.33 billion will be allocated for SSN programmes while the rest Tk 39.07 billion will be allocated under social empowerment programmes like student stipend and microcredit.

The number of SSNP beneficiaries will increase to 4-4.5 million from next fiscal, draft paper said adding, a fresh survey on beneficiaries will be conducted from next year.

In April this year the International Monetary Fund Mission Chief (Bangladesh and Asia and Pacific Department) David Cowen has urged the government to handle its subsidy burdens carefully and to use subsidy money under SSNPs.

He went further by saying that the government should increase resources for a number of SSNPs as some of them were very effective in poverty reduction.

Dr. Ananya Raihan, executive director of D –Net, told daily sun that high inflation rates, which have hovered above 10 per cent for last couple of years, have definitely caused income erosion poor section of people. So SSNPs are essential to ease that problem, he added.

If the government would not increase SSNP allocations in next budget,it may become politically unwise for it in the long run, he added

Major SSNPs of the government are old age allowance, rural maintenance programme, vulnerable group development (VGD), vulnerable group feeding (VGF), employment generation programme for the hardcore poor, freedom fighters’ allowance, gratuitous relief, allowance for the financially insolvent disabled, open market sale (OMS), test relief and food for work programme.

The Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ 31- May-2012