Muhith rules out CPD findings
Budgetary fund for children only 4.1pc: CPD
(From left) Prof Dr Abul Barakat, Prof Mustafizur Rahman, Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, Carel de Rooy, Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud and Jewel Aich at a seminar titled “Child Friendly Budget” organised by Centre for Policy Dialogue at a city hotel yesterday. Photo: STAR
Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday ruled out the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) report, which said that allocation for children in the national budget now stands at 4.1 percent (FY 2010-11). The CPD report presented at a city's hotel yesterday says, "as a percentage of total national budget, child related allocations have gone from 4.6 percent in 2005-2006 down to 4.1 percent of the national budget in 2010-2011." "Child budget as a percentage of GDP has remained stagnant at 0.7 percent," it adds. “I don't agree with the report findings. The government allocated money in nutrition, education, health and social welfare [sectors]. A big chunk from the money allocated in these sectors is spent for children,” said the minister. Speaking at the launching function of the report, Muhith said if the allocation in these sectors is accrued it will surpass the present findings [4.1 percent]. The minister, however, felt that there is a need for children friendly budget. Muhith admitted that children living in the urban and rural slum areas are not taken into account in the budget. “We'll take it into consideration,” he added. The report on “National Budget: Are the Commitments to the Children of Bangladesh Being Kept?,” prepared by CPD and Unicef Bangladesh, analysed the data from FY 2005-2011. The report says most child-related programmes fall under four sectors- 1) education and religion, 2) health, population and family welfare, 3) social welfare, women and youth development and 4) labour and employment. The government has allocated Tk 9,607 crore for the sectors in the fiscal year 2010-2011. The report highlights that share of allocations for child-focused programmes has not been changed significantly since FY 2005-06. Though number of social safety net programmes and amount of money allocated in the budgets has been increased, the amount and proportion of these resources are meager compared to the number of poor and most vulnerable children. Echoing the claim of the finance minister, President of Bangladesh Economic Association Prof Dr Abul Barakat said that allocation for child related issues in the national budget will not be 4.1 percent. “According to my estimation this will be more than 4.1 percent. Programmes like social protection programme are not counted in the report [of CPD],” he said urging the researchers to disclose a more methodologically sound survey. The economists albeit supports the 10-point recommendations of the report like developing a pro-child budget framework, increasing investment for children to reduce socioeconomic inequalities, using deprivation poverty data set/map and ensuring improved sanitation and safe drinking water for all including urban and slum dwellers. Representative of Unicef Bangladesh Carel de Rooy believed that since 45 percent of the total population in Bangladesh is children (under the age of 18) direct annual development plan (ADP) and social safety net budget for children should be doubled over the time. CPD's Head of Research Fahmida Khatun screened the report in brief. State Minster for Woman and Children Affairs Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and former adviser to the caretaker government Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud, among others, addressed the event while CPD Executive Director Prof Mustafizur Rahman was in the chair. Mustafizur Rahman admitted that there were methodological shortcomings in the research. “We'll try to sharpen it in future,”he added. Wahiduddin Mahmud said that the allocation pattern for children has been changed over time. Stressing the need for standard education for poor children, he said that if the standard education is not given to poor children they will not turn into manpower. “There is adverse political influence found in the secondary level education,” said Wahiduddin Mahmud.
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