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Distinguished Fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Professor Mustafizur Rahman suggested on Saturday an allocation of four per cent of GDP to social safety net programmes instead of the existing 2.2 per cent to help poverty alleviation in the country. He said about 15 million people of the country are now living below extreme poverty and 30 million below the poverty line whereas budgetary allocations on social safety net programmes should be increased to help them come out of the vicious cycle of poverty. Mustafizur Rahman also said though there are some problems of micro credit, it has been playing a significant role in poverty eradication in the country and Bangladesh's micro credit model is being followed in different countries of the world. Mr. Mustafizur Rahman made the observations at a mock parliament on 'Micro Credit and Social Safety Net Programmes," at the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC). Debate for Democracy organised the programme where Eastern University participated as the ruling party and University of Asia Pacific as the Opposition. Chairman of Debate for Democracy Hassan Ahamed Chowdhury Kiron presided over the programme. It was also attended, among others, by Professor Abu Mohammad Royis, Dr. S M Morshed and Journalist Doulot Akter Mala. Speaking on the occasion Mustafizur Rahman said micro credit contributed a lot to the poverty alleviation in the country though it has some problems in some arenas. "I think one of the problems of the micro credit is that sometimes to pay the loan of one organisation the borrowers again take loan from another organisation which keeps them in the vicious cycle of poverty," he added. Mustafizur Rahman said social safety net programmes should include right people. Marking some of the irregularities of the social safety net programmes, he said a social safety net programme providing 30 kg rice per person to 5 million low income people left many who ought to have been brought under the programme. Mr. Rahman said social safety net programmes also should be inclusive otherwise discrimination will increase in the society. Hassan Ahamed Chowdhury Kiron said though different NGOs are working in the country in different micro credit schemes, there are opposite views about the micro credits too. He said there are also complaints that many poor people lost everything availing micro credit loans but there are also positive scenarios that a lot of poor people changed their fate and came out of the poverty through micro credit loans. wazeddu@yahoo.com....

Published at: 2017-03-19 00:00:05

Speakers at a dialogue in Chittagong have said that attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) require inclusiveness of different marginalised groups who lag behind in the development landscape of the country. They said peace, security, human rights and good governance will be the key priority areas in achieving the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development. The dialogue styled “The New Global Development Agenda: Peace and Security, Human Rights and Governance’, was organised by Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh, in collaboration with Transparency International Bangladesh’s (TIB) Sachetan Nagarik Committee (SANAC), Chittagong, and Community Development Centre (CODEC), Chittagong. - source UNB....

Published at: 2017-03-19 00:00:05

Our Correspondent SYLHET, Mar 18: The government is contemplating enacting a black law named 'Bangladesh citizenship law' targeting to suppress BNP and other opposition political parties, speakers told a discussion meeting in Sylhet city on Saturday. This law would hit the Non-resident Bangladeshis most as they would lose their citizenship while others would also be affected by this anti-people law, they observed. Sylhet city unit BNP organised the discussion styled 'Draft Bangladesh Citizenship Bill-2016: Citizens' views' at a hotel where the organisation's central vice chairman Abdullah Al Noman addressed as the chief guest. Noman said law is enacted for people's benefit but this one is anti-people. He called upon all to raise voice against such a move countrywide. Noman said the nation wants a free and fair election through participation of all parties.  A government without having people's trust through voting cannot enact such an important law, he added. Another vice-chairman Khondaker Mahbub Hossain said it is planned out of political grudge. This law would make NRBs class three citizens, he added and viewed there should be nationwide protest against such a black law. Former chairman of Privatisation Commission Enam Ahmed Chowdhury said the law would badly hit foreign remittance as the NRBs would face a sever threat. Former DU pro-VC AFM Yousuf Haider and Sylhet city mayor (suspended) Ariful Haqua Chowdhury also addressed among others while city BNP president Nasim Hossain chaired.    iqbal1527@hotmail.com....

Published at: 2017-03-19 00:00:05

FE Report Bangladesh should not discourage foreign direct investment (FDI) that would come from the world's major tax havens, speakers at a seminar recommended Saturday. It would help increase the FDI inflow into the country, they said, taking part in the discussion. Leading think tank Policy Research Institute (PRI) organised the seminar titled 'Improving Investment Climate: Key Policy Reforms and Institutional Priorities' at a hotel in the capital. Bangladesh should look forward to the world's major tax havens to increase the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country, said Syed Nasim Manzur, president of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI). "Colour of the money does not matter as long as that money flows into my country," he said. "From that point of view, the world's major tax havens can be a good source of investment for us." A tax haven is usually referred to a country or jurisdiction that offers favourable tax or other conditions to its taxpayers than that of the other jurisdictions. Tax havens usually have a low-tax or no-tax regime or have generous tax incentives. Examples of such tax havens include Andorra, the Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Channel Islands, the Cook Islands, Hong Kong, The Isle of Man, Mauritius, Lichtenstein, Monaco, Panama, and St. Kitts and Nevis. Drawing similar instances from the countries in the region, Mr. Manzur mentioned that the fourth largest FDI source for Vietnam last year was British Virgin Island while the biggest source of foreign investment for India in 2016 was Mauritius. "It is all about changing the mindset," said the MCCI president, who is also the managing director of Apex Footwear -- the country's leading footwear manufacturer. His view came against the backdrop of a growing consensus that the share of the FDI as percentage of the country's GDP continued to remain low as compared to other LDCs. In his keynote presentation, PRI executive director Dr. Ahsan H Mansur said the FDI continued to represent a small fraction of the GDP and the private investment with inflows reaching around US$ 2 billion in the last fiscal. "FDI constitutes only 6 per cent of Bangladesh's GDP while it is 54 per cent for Vietnam, 13 per cent for South Asia and 27 per cent for LDCs," he said. Mr Mansur also noted that the FDI could play an important role in export diversification and technology transfer. "We must not forget that it was South Korean FDI in RMG that unleashed the domestically-led RMG revolution in Bangladesh."   Echoing with the observation, chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Kazi M. Aminul Islam said the tax havens could be a potential source of bringing big foreign investment into the country. "I also agree that the colour of the money does not matter," he said, adding: "We have certain criteria for investment in this country and if they can fulfil those criteria, we would welcome investment from such tax havens."    Mr. Islam was also critical about the age-old regulatory procedures in the country, which he considered as the major impediment to bolster investment.   "We still have acts dating back one hundred years. We still have processes that are redundant and cumbersome. What New Zealand does in three steps, we do it in thirteen steps," he said.   Finance minister AMA Muhith, who attended the programme as chief guest, emphasised on diversification of the country's export basket. "Export of readymade garments should continue to grow. But at the same time, other items should increase their share in the overall export basket," he said. Earlier, entrepreneurs present in the seminar noted that the present tax regulations impose 20 per cent tax as well as VAT on technical knowhow, which creates extra burden on bringing new technology in the country. The finance minister said the issue could be reviewed through discussion with the entrepreneurs before the next budget. Addressing the seminar, eminent economist Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud said that although a number of big infrastructure projects have been undertaken in the country in recent times, allocation should also be provided for maintenance of those infrastructures.   BUILD chairman Asif Ibrahim recommended establishment of a project monitoring platform at the national level under public private partnership initiative to supervise and monitor the implementation of the big projects. Noting that most of the government policies were being driven by the needs of RMG, speakers in the seminar also called for making the policies friendly to all other sectors. mehdi.finexpress@gmail.com....

Published at: 2017-03-19 00:00:05

Three siblings were detained with bomb-making materials and Jihadi books from the town's Shankarpur area on Saturday afternoon. The detainees are -- Rabiul Islam, son of Abdul Jabbar, hailing from Khulna district, and his sisters -- Maisha Bilkis and Nusrat Parveen, reports UNB. Officer-in-charge (Investigation) of Kotwali Police Station Abul Basha said: "Acting on a tip-off, a team of police raided the house of one Taiebur Rahman and picked the siblings up with the Jihadi books and bomb-making materials around 5:30pm."....

Published at: 2017-03-19 00:00:05