PRSP Term Paper

8/8/2019 PRSP Term Paper

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Chapter One: Introduction

1.1 Introductory remarks:

Bangladesh initiated her journey towards preparing a Poverty Reduction Strategy

Paper (PRSP) on 16 November 2000 under the chairmanship of the then Finance

Minister, late Mr S.A.M.S. Kibria. he completed the interim PRSP on March 2003.

With passage of time, he finalized the first full-blown PRSP on October 16, 2005.

And finally, he extended the PRSP 2005 in 2008. The NSAPR II which has been

revised in the light of the governments development vision and the Election

Manifesto also emphasizes the aspect of policy continuity. In this respect, due

considerations have been given to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and

the SAARC Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the need for sustained efforts

towards achieving these goals.

1.2 Origin of the term paper:

This term paper has been authorized by Rubina Parvin by herself. We have

prepared the assignment on the basis of her requirements and submitted at the

stipulated date.

1.3 Methodology:

The assignment is basically based on the secondary data sources. We have browsed

internet to gather not only complementary data but also image. Moreover, we have

also used our learning. Finally, we have dealt with the requirements dividing them

into two chapters named as Chapter 1, and Chapter 2.

1.4 Scope:

Here we have totally concentrated on providing a summarized presentation of the

most coveted and talked about materials of the new revised PRSP II with the help of

highlights and bullets.

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1.5 Objectives of the assignment:

The main objective of the assignment is to present the summary of the new revised

PRSP II. Besides, this assignment has some other secondary objectives. They

include the followings.

To provide the learners an opportunity to apply their gathered knowledge in

real life situation.

To help learners to know how to prepare an assignment in this type.

To provide valuable summarized information to those who are engaged in

different sectors of the country.

1.6 Limitations of the assignment:

No work is free from blemish, and so does this assignment. The shortcomings of the

assignment include the below-mentioned things.

All the data are from secondary sources.

No human being is 100% perfect.

The report is the summary of the overall around 342 pages.

There was a matter of time urgency.

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Chapter Two: Overview of PRSP

2.1 About PRSP

The PRSP is an acronym. Its full meaning is Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. It

was initiated by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in 1999. The

idea behind it is to allow borrowing nations a great deal more say in their own

future, help them to retain sovereignty and allow their populace to have input into

future developments.

Basically, a PRSP is a comprehensive country-based strategy for poverty reduction

in brief. In broader sense, it refers to the macroeconomic, structural, and social

policies and programs that a country will pursue over several years to promote

growth and reduce poverty, as well as external financing needs and the associated

sources of financing.

2.2 Its Preparation & Aim

A PRSP is prepared by governments in low-income countries through a participatory

process involving domestic stakeholders and external development partners,

including the IMF and the World Bank. It aims to provide the crucial link between

national public actions, donor support, and the development outcomes needed to

meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to help guide

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Fund and Bank concessional lending as well as debt relief under the Heavily

Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative.

2.3 Core Principles of PRSP

The PRSP is by now well established in a substantial number of countries and has

been associated with notable advances in country ownership, making poverty

reduction more prominent in policy debates, and facilitating more open dialogue.

This fact does not just happen. Five core principles underlie the PRSP approach.

Poverty reduction strategies should be:

country-driven, promoting national ownership of strategies through broad-

based participation of civil society;

result-oriented and focused on outcomes that will benefit the poor;

comprehensive in recognizing the multidimensional nature of poverty;

partnership-oriented, involving coordinated participation of developmentpartners (government, domestic stakeholders, and external donors); and

Based on a long-term perspective for poverty reduction.

The core principles underlying the PRSP approach suggest that PRSPs would be

expected to include:

A description of the participatory process that was used:

A PRSP will describe the format, frequency, and location of consultations; a

summary of the main issues raised and the views of participants; an account of theimpact of the consultations on the design of the strategy; and a discussion of the

role of civil society in future monitoring and implementation.

Comprehensive poverty diagnostics:

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A good understanding of the poor and where they live allows the PRSP to analyze

the macroeconomic, social, structural and institutional constraints to faster growth

and poverty reduction.

Clearly presented and costed priorities for macroeconomic, structural, and

social policies:

In light of a deeper understanding of poverty and its causes, the PRSP sets out the

macroeconomic, structural, and social policies that together comprise a

comprehensive strategy for achieving poverty reducing outcomes. It is important

that policies are costed and prioritized as far as possible so that they do not become

a "wish list."

Appropriate targets, indicators, and systems for monitoring and

evaluating progress:

A PRSP will define medium and long-term goals for poverty reduction outcomes

(monetary and non-monetary), establish indicators of progress, and set annual and

medium-term targets. The indicators and targets should be consistent with the

assessment of poverty and the institutional capacity to monitor, and the policy

choices in the strategy.

Chapter Three: PRSP in Bangladesh

Following completion of the Fifth Five Year Plan in 2002, the Government of

Bangladesh changed its development strategy and adopted PRSP in an attempt to

reduce poverty on a fast track basis. With that end, it successfully completed the

Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP) titled Bangladesh: A National

Strategy for Economic Growth, Poverty Reduction and Social

Development, in March 2003. Then it drafted first full-blown PRSP in December

2004 and made it active in March 2005 entitled Unlocking the potential:

National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction (NSAPR). With thepassage of time, NSAPR II (FY 2009-11) was approved by the then Caretaker

Government in 2008. Present Democratic Government came to power in January,

2009 and revised the NSAPR II.

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3.1 Objective of revised PRSP

Government with a vision for Poverty Free Bangladesh has decided to align

the NSAPR II in line with its development vision and election manifesto in terms of

poverty reduction, economic growth, and efficiency through use of science

and technology as well as other socio-economic goals.

3.2 Key Features of Revised PRSP

The present volume of PRSP is a much improved one in terms of both substance

andpresentation. Let me cite a few of these distinguishing features.

1. The document embodies a rich analysis of causal nexus of poverty in its

multiple manifestations.

2. The deliberations on the strategic road map in terms ofStrategic Blocks andSupporting Strategies are quite comprehensive and cogent.

3. The document contains a good account of the consultation process informing

its preparation.

4. The three year policy agenda presented as a list of matrices is an interesting

catalogue of policy measures which are necessary to improve poverty

effectiveness of public investment.

5. Inclusion of a detailed Monitoring and Evaluation Matrix by sectors/areas has

significantly enhanced the value of the document.

3.3 Parties Involved in Revising PRSP

The revised NSAPR II has been prepared by General Economics Division (GED)

of the Planning Commission as the National Poverty Focal Point after

extensive consultations with the members of Independent PRS and MDGs

Monitoring Committee, Ministries/Divisions and Sector Divisions of the

Planning Commission, academia, researchers, NGOs, civil societies and

other relevant stakeholders. Draft NSAPR II was placed in the Cabinet on 9

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September 2009. It was also placed in the National Parliament on 15 September

2009 for comments and discussion by the peoples representatives. This is the first

time in Bangladesh that a national document of this kind has been placed before

the Parliament.

3.4 Elements of Revised PRSP

The poverty reduction strategy framework of the revised NSAPR II is based on the

reality of multidimensionality of poverty and takes into account the dynamics of the

socio-economic factors that reinforce and perpetuate poverty in the country. The

strategy framework consists of five strategic blocks and so do five supporting

strategies discussed from the next page.

Strategic Blocks

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Macroeconomic environment for pro-poor growth

Critical areas for pro-poor growth;

Essential infrastructure for pro-poor growth;

Social protection for the vulnerable

Human development.

Supporting Strategies

Ensuring participation, social inclusion, and empowerment

Promoting good governance

Ensuring efficient delivery of public service

Caring for environment and tackling climate change

Enhancing productivity and efficiency through science and technology

3.5 Roadmap for Strategic Blocks

3.5.1 Macroeconomic Environment for Pro-poor Economic Growth:

The government has taken steps to balance its policies to meet short term

exigencies and long term development needs. Internal sector policy will be

geared to support agriculture, large and medium enterprises, housing and

trade finance and to reduce inflation as well. On the other hand, the

external sector policy will be geared to sustain export growth, enhance

remittance flows, and ensure increasing flow of imports required to attain the

targeted growth rate of the economy and meet consumer demand.

3.5.2 Critical Areas for Pro-Poor Growth:

The Critical Areas contains the following elements

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Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Development: The SMEs will

play a pivotal role in achieving the national goal of accelerated pro-poor

growth.

The government will, play the role of a facilitator to provide

them a level playing field.

The Government will make policies and strategies for promoting

SMEs growth and competitiveness

Promoting Decent Employment:

The government will undertake job creation programmes for

those who are by-passed by the normal growth process.

The government will introduce a programme entitled

Employment Generation for the Hard Core Poor in FY10

Employment will be created also through public works

programmes, micro-credit and employment-based social safety nets.

Environment for Private Sector Development: Enhanced efforts will bemade to support the private sector-led development during the revised

NSAPR II through maintaining macroeconomic stability to provide a conducive

environment for private investment, removing infrastructural constraints,

creating a deeper and more efficient financial sector, developing best

practices for microfinance, developing the capital market, addressing skills

shortages in the labour market, promoting regulatory transparency,

improving access to land for private enterprises, promoting development of

economic zones, technology development, etc.

Agriculture: The challenges of improved performance in the agricultural

sector will be addressed through a set of policies and strategies in the NSAPR

II (revised) period.

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In the crop sub-sector, the strategies will focus on productivity

gains, diversification to high value crops, market based input

distribution along with effective monitoring, biotechnology research

and development, technology generation and dissemination etc.

In fisheries sub-sector development envisages intensification of

aquaculture by species and ecosystems, addition of export-oriented

species, ensuring biodiversity and preserving natural breeding

grounds, product diversification, value addition etc.

Livestock: In the livestock subsector strategies will focus on dairy

development and meat production, poultry development, veterinary services

and animal health, feeds and animal management, breed development, hides

and skins, marketing of livestock products etc.

Forestry: In the forestry subsector strategies will focus on development and

management of protected areas (PAs), eco-parks, botanical gardens and

safari parks under a reformed legal framework, ensuring both in-situ and ex-

situ conservation in the country, co-management in five out of 19 PAs,

wildlife protection, sustainable management of enhancing access of the poor

to public commons , conducting National forest assessment and periodic

forest inventory, and building forest resources through afforestation.

Rural Development: The National Rural Development Council (NRDC),

headed by the Prime Minister, will be formed to provide guidelines for

implementing the rural development policy. A national steering committee

will be formed to assist the NRDC and follow up policy implementations.

Water Resources Development and Management: The strategies of

water resources development and management will be grouped under six

major heads:

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(i) dredging the main rivers and their development for the

multipurpose use of water resources, management for navigation,

erosion control, and development of hydropower;

(ii) flood protection and storm-water drainage measures will be

undertaken with the rehabilitation and maintenance of existing FCD

and FCDI systems in a participatory manner and protection of rural

and urban areas from floods;

(iii)disaster management programmes will include provisions of

cyclone protection, early warning and forecasting systems with

adequate lead time, flood proofing shelters, control of riverbank

erosion, drought management and rationalization of groundwater

resources and climate change adaptation;

(iv) adequate provisions will be made for water management

for agriculture through public sector irrigation development and

flood management and drainage;

(v) protection of the natural environment and aquatic resources will

be ensured with water pollution monitoring and control, water

management for fisheries and ecologically sensitive areas and

raising awareness of all stakeholders to support environmental

measures; and (vi) development of institutions in the water sector

will be ensured.

Land Use Policy and Management: Land use policy will ensure optimal

use of land

resources and delivery of land related services to the people through

modernized and

efficient land administration.

Urban Development: The urbanization policy would encompass spatial,

economic, social, cultural, aesthetic and environmental aspects of urban life

directed towards achieving an urban society free from hunger and poverty

with ample access to education, health, shelter, and basic services and a

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secure and livable environment at home and workplace. It will be a society

sensitive to women, children and the aged.

3.5.3 Essential Infrastructure for Pro-Poor Growth:

Power and Energy:

The supply of quality and reliable power at affordable prices to

the people will be ensured through system expansion with a prudent

least cost plan, efficiency improvement through institutional and

structural reform and establishment of commercial arrangements

among the sector entities.

Balanced development of generation, transmission and

distribution of electricity will be ensured.

The vision of the power sector is to provide access to affordableand reliable electricity to all citizens of Bangladesh by 2021.

Electricity generation will be raised to 7,000 MW by 2013, 8,000

MW by 2015 and 20,000 MW by 2021.

Transport:The goal of road transport is to achieve a well-maintained, cost

effective and safe road network connecting all parts of the country and to

establish cross-border links. The development of road sector emphasizes:

(i) Capacity expansion through construction of tunnel,

(ii) Four laning of existing important highways.

(iii)Construction of major bridges,

(iv) Development of road corridor and border roads to

facilitate sub-regional trade, and

(v) Regional balance in road development.

The planned construction of Padma Multipurpose Bridge will be completed by

2013. Steps

have been taken to implement the construction of Padma Bridge project at

Mawa and the

construction of Karnaphuli Hanging Bridge project on a priority basis.

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Social Safety Net Programmes: A strong and expanded social safety net

programme (SSNP) is the main emphases of Vision 2021, which will protect

the poor from all sorts of social, economic and natural shocks. The major

goals of SSNPs are:

(i) Safety net interventions will achieve the protection of all types

of poor people and the prevention of chronic poverty as well as

transient poverty. It will target the extreme poor first;

(ii) the government will encourage NGOs, CBOs and the private

sector to augment their role and contributions to expand the social

safety net; and

(iii)Attempts will be made to increase coverage through increased

budgetary allocation each year.

Food Security: Food security encompasses three broad aspects, namely,

availability, access

and utilization. Food security and nutrition will

(i) Ensure adequate and stable supply of safe and nutritious food;

(ii) Enhance the purchasing power of the people for increased

access to food; and

(iii) Ensure adequate nutrition for all, especially women, children

and persons with disabilities.

Disaster Management: The goal for disaster management (DM) isprevention and protection of lives and properties from any kind of hazards

with priority given to disaster risk management along with mitigation. DM will

include

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(i) Improving the cyclone signal system to make it clear to common

people and improving flood forecasting to be able to make

forecasts 6-7 days

(ii) Strengthening coordination among the government agencies,

NGOs and civil society institutions

(iii) Developing insurance system to cover disaster-related losses of

property;

(iv) Avoiding overlap in relief distribution and rehabilitation

initiatives,

(v) Providing adequate health facilities for the disaster victims,

quick transportation of the affected people and instant treatment of

the injured people, and

Microcredit: Microcredit programme will seek to

(i) Increase the coverage to a larger number of deserving

households; introduce a uniform approach of operation both by

NGOs and the public sector;

(ii)Introduce a regulatory framework for streamlining the activities

of the microcredit programme in the country.

(iii) A national microcredit policy will be framed to provide

guidelines about the operation of microcredit. It is also necessary

to rationalize interest rates.

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(iv) Necessary mechanism will be devised to ensure that

microcredit reaches the ultra poor and the hard to reach areas

especially those located in regions with higher incidence of

poverty. Local governments will be involved in microcredit delivery

Rural Non-Farm Activities: Rural non-farm activities have the potential of

becoming leading areas of growth in the rural economy. The strategies will

focus on two broad areas:

(i) Improving the rural investment climate; and

(ii) Supporting institutional framework

3.5.5 Human Resources Development:

Knowledge Base: Education, Training and Research:

(i) The countrys education system comprising primary, secondary,

tertiary, and non-formal education will be developed to build a

knowledge-based society.

(ii) Utmost priority will be given to quality of education to increase

the employability. Attention will be given to increase peoples

access to information, research capacity and awareness among

people, particularly at the grassroots level.

(iii)The commitment of the government is to achieve 100 percent

literacy by 2014.

Health, Nutrition and Population Planning: Taking a Holistic

Approach:The

Government will focus on

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(i) Increasing health status, reducing health inequalities,

expandingaccess to social safety network and encouraging

affordable service delivery systems foreverybody.

(ii) For the poor and vulnerable, existing facilities will be further

expanded and consolidated to ensure access of the poor to public

health care services as well as establish ownership through

community participation.

(iii)The health policy will be reevaluated and adjusted according to

the goals set by the government.

(iv) The current commitment of spending at least 60 per cent

of the total budgetary allocation of the HNP sector at upazila level

and below will continue to be pursued to improve the quality of PHC

and make it accessible and acceptable to the people, especially the

poor and vulnerable.

(v) Functioning of the Upazila Health Complexes (UHCs), Union

Health & Family Welfare Centers (UHFWCs) and the Community

Clinics (CCs) will be strengthened and further consolidated through

providing adequate manpower, drugs and other medical aids.

The government is committed to reactivate 10,723 community clinics (CCs)

which were established during 1996-2001. The MOHFW will run at least 8,000

CCs under government management. The

government is committed to providing universal access to pure drinking

water by 2011 and

sanitation by 2011.

3.6 Roadmap for Supporting Strategies

3.6.1 Participation, Social Inclusion, and Empowerment:

The vision for women's advancement and rights is to create a society where

men and women will have equal opportunities and will enjoy all fundamental

rights on an equal basis. To this end, Women Development Policy in

1997 will be revived to ensure womens empowerment and equality in rights

and opportunities. The vision for women's advancement and rights is to

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create a society where men and women will have equal opportunities and will

enjoy all fundamental rights on an equal basis.

3.6.2 Good Governance:

Improving governance and reducing corruption are crucial to helping poor

people escape poverty and achieving the MDGs. The promotion of good

governance will focus on the following issues:

making parliamentary process effective

reforming and strengthening the public service system

reforming the legal and judicial system

changing roles oflaw enforcing agencies

strengthening oflocal government

promoting e-governance

combating corruption

ensuring human rights

accessing information

improving project implementation capacity

improving sectoral governance

3.6.3 Efficient Delivery of Public Services:

The main goal of public services delivery is to ensure adequate, effective and

low-cost services relating to safety, security, and protection of life, liberty and

wealth, safe water and sanitation for all, power and energy, transportation,

solid waste management, and ICT, post and telecommunication to the

people,

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3.6.4Caring for Environment and Tackling Climate Change:

The environmental challenges in the forms ofwater and air pollution, land

degradation, extreme degradation of terrestrial and aquaticecosystems, unsustainable agricultural practices and unplanned

urban growth, global warming will be met by undertaking measures in the

areas of policies, planning, regulations and capacity building.

3.6.5Enhancing Productivity and Efficiency through Science and

Technology:

The major goal of the science and technology policy is to make Bangladesh a

knowledge-based society, which accelerates growth and reduce poverty by

improving quality of life of people of the disadvantaged strata, enhancing

productivity in agriculture and inspiring the creation of jobs. This will come

true by dint of-

innovative application of ICT

application of biotechnology

technological growth induced by the promotion and

application ofatomic energy

3.7 Indicative costs of revised PRSP

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The estimated set out cost in revised NSAPR II of achieving the strategic goals

and targets is Tk. 2,814.81 billion and non-discretionary expenditure

comprising interest payment obligations (domestic and foreign) of the public sector

and national defense expenditure, Tk. 642.59 billion totaling Tk. 3,457.40

billion at FY08 prices. The total domestic mobilizable resource is Tk. 2,582.56

billion at FY08 prices. The estimated total resources gap is Tk. 874.84 billion

which has to be mobilized from external sources.

3.8 Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation of revised PRSP

The major responsibility for the implementation of the strategy lies with the

concerned ministries and their agencies comprising different thematic groups

as well as other ministries and agencies responsible for the implementation of the

crosscutting issues. Other actors that will play an active role in the implementation

include the private sector, civil society organizations (CSOs), NGOs, and

regulatory commissions. The development partners will play a supportive role

in the implementation of the NSAPR II (revised).

There would be regular dialogues with development partners based on mutually

agreed Joint Cooperation Strategy (JCS) paper with clear aid effectiveness outcomes

in support of a prioritized and operational national poverty strategy. A list of

indicators has been developed for monitoring. For carrying out M&E effectively,

capacity building of concerned institutions will be undertaken.

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3.9Implementation Challenges of Revised PRSP

Every human being has got bounded rationality. His/ her work is not in perfection.

The work brings about some challenges too. Similarly, NSAPR II (Revised) has alsogot some implementation challenges. Those challenges are:

3.9.1 Inadequate Educational Facilities:

Bangladesh is yet to develop an education system that inspires creativity

among young people. Lack of quality teachers and laboratory facilities

hampers science education especially in rural schools. High rate of illiteracy

is a major constraint on use of the education system to develop computer

skills.

3.9.2 Shortage of Manpower:

There exists acute shortage of skilled manpower required to propel the

country through harvesting the benefits of science and technology.

3.9.3 Insufficient ICT Infrastructure:

Communication infrastructure in the country is poor especially in the rural

areas.

3.9.4 Lack of Job Opportunities:

There do not exist enough job opportunities in science and technical areas.

Unless considerable number of industrial enterprises is established, education

in science and technology will not appear lucrative to the population.

3.9.5 Inadequate Research Initiatives/Financial Support in Science:

The expenditure on R&D in Bangladesh does not constitute more than 0.3

percent of its GNP. The National Science and Technology Policy recommends

that special efforts be given to ensure 1 percent of GNP for R&D activities.

Bangladesh is yet to build an institution for ICT education and research.

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References

1. Steps Towards Change: National Strategy for Accelerated PovertyReduction, Planning Commission, Ministry of Planning, PeoplesRepublic of Bangladesh, Website www.plancomm.gov.bd

2. Delivering on the PRSP in Bangladesh: An Analysis of theImplementation Challenges, Debapriya Bhattacharya, Center forPolicy Dialogue, Paper 54, Website: www.cpd-bangladesh.org
http://www.plancomm.gov.bd/secondPRSP2009.asphttp://www.cpd-bangladesh.org/http://www.plancomm.gov.bd/secondPRSP2009.asphttp://www.cpd-bangladesh.org/

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