Quickly release incentives for all affected by Covd-19: Experts

Economists and business leaders have advised the government to provide policy assistance to all by facilitating the process of financial assistance and speedy implementation of stimulus packages to fight an expected second wave of Covid-19.

They said a new incentive package would have to be announced to deal with the second wave based on the experience learned dealing with the first wave.

At the same time, there should be adequate cooperation for the workers and a favourable environment for the traders.

"We need to pay more attention to social security, and especially focus on the poorest parts of the country,” they recommended.

These recommendations were made by participants at a views exchange meeting on the incentive package undertaken by the government for tackling Covid-19, organised by the Finance Division at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium on Thursday.

Local Government Minister Md Tajul Islam was the chief guest at the event while Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam attended as the special guest.

Tajul Islam said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had announced a special package of around Tk122,000 crore to effectively address the crisis caused by the coronavirus and bring back the trend of prosperity by removing the detrimental effects on the economy.

“As a result of successful implementation of these incentives, the economy has turned around with the growth of exports, private credit flows, and foreign exchange reserves,” he said.

"It has also been possible to control inflation and keep the poverty level down. The development activities are no longer just city-centric, they have spread to remote rural areas across the country as well,” the minister added.

In his keynote paper, Senior Finance Secretary Abdur Rouf Talukder said the government is bringing 492 upazilas under social security.

“Of this, we have been able to provide coverage according to 30% capacity. Now, 100% social security programmes have been taken in 112 upazilas."

However, he said, "Our goal is to get more upazilas based on instructions from above.”

Currently, the list they are making is being done with NID numbers. As a result, there is no scope for overlapping or people being counted twice.

Admitting that there may have be problems in some of the big social security programmes, he said, “But when we distributed the money, we got the names of 6 million people from the field level. From there, we had to pay Tk2,500 to 36 lakh people.

"Here we can proudly say that not a single person got money twice,” the secretary said.

He said a decision on the new package would be taken based on the suggestions made on Thursday's discussion on how to deal with the second wave of coronavirus pandemic.

Barrister Nihad Kabir, president of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, "Last June-July, we saw the country’s internal economy regain momentum. But the second wave of coronavirus pandemic has been a source of concern for us since November because some sectors are not yet operational."

She said their hope was that the government is keeping a sharp eye on these matters.

Nihad added that the country's domestic trade was undoubtedly on the rise in the second half of the year.

“But in November, I can see the decline. At the same time, there is a crisis in the global economy. In many sectors, 90% of the small traders in the country were active. But in terms of demand and price, we have not been able to return to the previous position,” she stated.

Economic Research Group Executive Director Dr Sajjad Zahir said not everyone in the country has been brought under the Covid-19 epidemic incentive package.

“We need to think a little more about why this financial assistance is limited to 120 upazilas. In a pandemic, everyone expects the poorest part of the country to be brought under financial assistance.

“We need to speed up the implementation of other issues, including fundraising for housing projects for the poor," he added.

Centre for Policy Dialogue Research Director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem said, "In terms of per capita income, we have found 33% poor people who are eligible for social security, but for some reason they have been left out."

He also said that those who are not supposed to come under this social protection are getting the benefit.

“The number is 19.5%. That is why we need a more targeted approach,” he said.

Among others, Dhaka University Professor of Economics Firdausi Nahar and Rensje Teerink, Ambassador of the European Union to Bangladesh, also spoke as panellists at the event.