On the sixtieth anniversary of the UN it was agreed that during the GA session a summit should take place to consider essentially four items viz., review of MDGs, global terrorism, human rights and UN reforms. At the end of the cold war a number of UN conferences took place mainly devoted to social and economic development. Finally in 2000 there was a summit gathering to consolidate the results of these conferences and take a global decision on eradication of poverty and deprivation for most denizens of the world. In that summit the MDGs or Millennium Development Goals were set and all parties made their commitment to realize the goals set for 2015. In 2002 the Monterery consensus on flow of external assistance needed for attaining the MDGs was reached. Some of the main targets were halving the proportion of people below the poverty line, securing universal primary education, halving the population without access to safe water, reducing child mortality by two-thirds and removing gender disparity. 170 heads of government or states out of 191 members attended the conference. There was very little progress on UN reforms. The resistance to terrorism was reiterated by all. Human rights remained on the sidelines. The achievement of the MDGs was reiterated and some small movement was made towards providing additional financing through the Democracy Fund.

Begum Khaleda Zia MP, the Prime Minister as the leader of Bangladesh delegation came out strongly against terrorism and indicated that despite some setbacks the achievement of the MDGs remains the commitment of the country. Sheikh Hasina, the Leader of the Opposition who had participated in the summit of 2000, laid out the position of the Awami League on MDGs in a press briefing on 15 September.

Sheikh Hasina stated that Bangladesh based its development strategy on reduction of poverty and adopted some specific programmes to tackle the issue. Filling up nutritional gap, reducing maternal mortality rate, accelerating removal of illiteracy, and reducing gender disparity and resisting repression of women were very special programmes. The most important strategy consisted of high growth in output and dynamism in the rural sector.

Her government introduced social security measures such as old age, widow and freedom fighter pensions, set up employment bank, undertook housing schemes, gave stipends to children, and took up shelter projects and return to village programme. Simultaneously 16 policies were announced for sectors such as education, health care, agriculture, water, energy and women empowerment. the achievement was, indeed significant during the five years of AL government. (See table 1).

She went on with the following statement:

“It was the expectation of the nation that the record of good performance should be continued. Unfortunately BNP-Jamat government did not continue with the successful strategy. And on top of it misrule of the Alliance has left us behind. There is hardly any growth in the agriculture and rural sector. The government has failed to create new employment opportunities. The standard of education has suffered a debacle. Health care and nutrition service have deteriorated. The country is moving in the direction of an uncertain future deeply troubled by lawlessness, government softness for the terrorists and patronage of extremist armed groups and their links with international terrorism. Not to speak of reduction of poverty the very security of the state is at stake.

Truly speaking the emergence of BNP was surrounded by illegality and violence. In 1975 general Ziaur Rahman usurped power after the assassination of the father of the nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He organized the BNP and he also spawned the fascist Jamat. Their only target is usurpation of power by rigging elections and then plundering the resources of the nation. They are truly inimical to the interest of the country and you cannot expect anything good from them. They seem not to believe on the sovereignty of Bangladesh.

The Prime Minister is attending the summit and she is also presenting a progress rep[ort on attainment of the MDGs. It is not known as to how this report has been prepared, whether it has at all been considered by people’s representatives. How has the prevailing crisis in the socio-economic scene or the problem of absence of governance have been looked at? What is the way out of spiraling terrorism, politicization of all public servants and institutions, endemic corruption and limitless misrule that have deprived the masses of their minimal rights and earnings?

In the speech delivered at the UN the Prime Minister has claimed that by 2015 i.e. in ten years poverty can be reduced by half. But the stark reality belies any such optimism. During the AL rule the rate of reduction in poverty annually was between 1 and 1.5 percent; but in the last four years of BNP-Jamat rule this reduction rate has been halved, it has slowed down to only 0.52 percent. At this low rate it will take us forty years to halve the population under poverty and not just ten years. The eradication of poverty at the rate at which the Alliance government is reducing poverty will take us 80 years.

I feel obliged as a political leader and people’s representative to inform the public of our views and commitments on the MDGs. I am particularly interested because I had a role in defining the goals and outlining the strategy to attain them.

Neither in the parliament nor in the civil society was there much of a review of the goals and strategies. In fact MDGs are not owned by the people at all. The Alliance government does not have time for such discussion. They are too busy with plundering national wealth and making money. The PRSP document commits the country to pro-poor development but actually all the growth is benefiting the well to do and the rich.

In the name of empowering people actually only the government party politicians are being empowered. Now corruption is the rule. Those who came to power with broken suitcase and tattered clothes have been promoted as the richest family of the country. Their misdeeds and theft have earned for the country a hat-trick in corruption championship.

Everyone is without security. Women are repressed and disgraced. The administration has collapsed under the weight of politicization. There is nothing like an effective local government unit at any level.

Under the direct patronage of the powers that be bombs are blasted all over the country in a synchronized manner. Terrorist actions one after the other has wasted the stock of the country and it suffers from an immense image problem. People are afraid and threatened. Foreign investment is shying away while domestic investment is seriously handicapped. Unemployment is increasing poverty. Even export trade has lost its dynamism. While price-line is hiking up there is no commensurate increase in earnings of individuals.

Extortion and illegal toll collection, tender fraud, and sheer looting of funds from projects has brought down national saving rate and investment rate is stagnant. Inter-governmental deals and trade as well as local contracts are subjected to commission collection by diverse centres of power such as Prime Minister’s office, Howa Bhavan and takes of Ministers and MPs. In the final analysis the suffering is of the poor. They are deprived and wealth is taken away from them.”

Sheikh Hasina then proceeded with outlining her strategy and commitment. She said to the press thus:

“I would like to address the people through you that we stand by their side. We made a commitment in 2000 to achieve the MDGs and we stand firmly by it.

We consider that we must recast the strategy and goals immediately to cover up the loss of the last four years. We must develop a perspective plan and set up long term goals for 2021 and recast the MDGs within that framework.

In attaining the MDGs we must ensure that our development strategy takes into consideration our ground realities, our constitutional obligations and our unrealized potential. At the same time we must ensure that every citizen enjoys the fullest freedom, takes advantage of every opportunity and develops his capacity in full.

With the full cooperation of our people we dream of building a world order in which political, social, economic, cultural and physical security of each individual is guaranteed. The fundamental principles of our strategy will be suppression of terrorism, establishment of human rights and strengthening of democracy.

For attaining the Millennium development goals we make the following commitments and announce the following priorities and:

1. We shall try harder for enhancing national wealth and reducing socio-economic disparities with a view to improving the lot of the poor. We shall reemphasize the strategy of rural and agricultural growth keeping in tact the efforts at export-led growth. Our strategy will incorporate a well directed investment policy to strengthen infrastructure using labour intensive technology wherever possible and to expand production and service sectors generating wage employment.

2. We are determined to secure the rights of the poor by eliminating social disparity and injustice to the weak. For this purpose we shall introduce reforms in all administrative institutions to cater to the needs of the people. In order to empower the neglected people and ensure their right to public services we shall reform and restructure the various Commissions such as Election Commission, Anti Corruption Commission and Human Rights Commission. We shall recast education policy, energy policy, health policy, ICT strategy and local government programme with a view to ensure high standards of service to people.

3. We accord the highest priority to the rights of women. In national, regional and international development strategy empowerment of women will be given special attention. Equal status in society especially in respect of access to education, health, nutrition and ownership of property will be given high priority.

4. The role of the international or intergovernmental institutions will be synchronized with our national interest. We shall adopt our development strategy on the basis of our national need and capacity and ensure the participation of all citizens in the development enterprise. The interests of peasants and laobourers will be accorded the highest attention. We shall be proactive in all national and international initiatives to humanize the process of globalization and to prevent the marginalization of the poor.

5. In order to obtain good governance and corruption free administration along with institutional reforms we shall ensure citizens participation and oversight in all affairs of the state.

6. Our objective in protecting and improving the environment will be incorporation of ecological concerns in the overall development strategy and prevention of degradation or pollution of land, water and air resources. We shall adopt specific programmes to meet the dire challenges of climate change on our society and economy.

7. By ensuring the free and fair exercise of franchise by the people the constitutional principle of “all powers belong to the people” will be faithfully implemented.

8. All the organs of government viz., the legislature, the judiciary and the public administration will devote to public service and transparency and accountability of their operations will be ensured. Partisan service by these institutions will be halted so that government is for people and not for only the ruling party.

9. The main thrust of development enterprise will be removal of poverty. In order to win this battle human resource development will enjoy the highest priority.

10. Elimination of illiteracy of all citizens up to the age of 50 will be ensured and cent percent literacy will be secured in a planned manner and a within time bound programme. Attendance in schools of all school going children will be ensured and gradually all children will have free education up to college graduation. All efforts will be made for expansion of education in science and technology, agriculture and information & communication technology.

11. Health for all programme will be duly implemented using community healthcare centres, referral system for curative care and undertaking nutrition programme. Infant mortality and female mortality rates will be drastically curtailed. Effective programme for mitigation of arsenic contamination of drinking water will be implemented. .

12. By devolving powers to strong local government units successful and economic implementation of development programmes and proper delivery of public services will be ensured. At all local level development plans and programmes gender sensitivity will be an invariable component.

13. Small and medium enterprises, especially in food and agriculture processing and manufacturing, will be given high priority.

14. For the development of an integrated economy steps will be taken for adequate power supply, accelerated rural electrification and infrastructure building of all kinds.”

She concluded in the following words:

“Unlike the BNP-Jamat Alliance we shall bear in mind the long-term interests of the people in conducting our programme of action. Simultaneously we shall keep on reminding the world leaders and the development partners of their commitment to provide for the necessary financing and free flow of technology for the development of the developing countries. To achieve the MDGs this is our commitment to the nation and the international community.

We are committed to transform our population to a creative workforce for development. In order to free our nation created through a glorious liberation warof poverty and deprivation we need to harness the creative energy of our people in a big way.

We are confident, Inshahallah, that by 2021 we shall celebrate with due honour and pride the golden jubilee of our nation fulfilling the dream of golden Bengal cherished so dearly by the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Thank you all. Khuda Hafez.

Jai Bangla! Jai Bnagabandhu! Long live Bangladesh!”

Newsletter _______________________
Vol. 4. No. 8. September 28, 2005
Bangladesh Awami League Publication