‘We have beaten monga’

Finance minister AMA Muhith has said that Bangladesh has finally got over ‘monga’ (recession).
According to him, the country will be free of poverty by 2024, and it is moving ahead fast on the economic front.
“We can happily say goodbye to recession,” he said. Muhith was addressing the audience at the ‘Combined Initiative on the Eradication of Recession’ organised by the Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) in Agargaon yesterday.
In 2006, PKSF gave micro credit worth Tk. 2,455 crore to 5,012 families in 50 upazilas of 11 districts to help those affected by the recession. The ‘Programmed Initiatives for Monga Eradication’ (PRIME) were designed to be implemented in the north-western region of Bangladesh. This region faces acute hunger during the pre-harvest months of October to December.
Locally known as ‘monga’, this situation is characterised by a dearth of earning opportunities for landless and wage labourers. In 2010, PRIME started working in the natural disaster-prone south-western region. The region had just been hit by a cyclone and other calamities and had been suffering from water salinity and acute poverty.
Presided over by PKSF chairman Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, the programme was addressed by finance secretary Mahbub Ahmed and PKSF managing director Abdul Karim.
“I believe we will get rid of poverty by 2024. However, poverty-free Bangladesh will not mean that there will be no poor people at all. There will be some disabled, old people who may still be poor,” said Muhith.
He pointed out that even developed countries have eight to 10 per cent poor people. “Such people will depend on the state. We are taking initiatives to give them protection,” he added. He said PKSF was playing a vital role in eradicating poverty through its microfinance activities.
Mahbub Ahmed said poverty has gone down in Bangladesh, but discrimination is yet to go. “Government efforts towards the eradication of poverty have paid off. We have beaten recession,” he said.
Dr Kholiquzzaman said PRIME has been completed successfully. “Our monitoring will continue. People will not benefit from the project if monitoring stops,” he said.

We have beaten monga

Finance minister AMA Muhith has said that Bangladesh has finally got over monga (recession). According to him, the country will be free of poverty by 2024, and it is moving ahead fast on the economic front. We can happily say goodbye to recession, he said. Muhith was addressing the audience at the Combined Initiative on the Eradication of Recession organised by the Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) in Agargaon yesterday. In 2006, PKSF gave micro credit worth Tk. 2,455 crore to 5,012 families in 50 upazilas of 11 districts to help those affected by the recession. The Programmed Initiatives for Monga Eradication (PRIME) were designed to be implemented in the north-western region of Bangladesh. This region faces acute hunger during the pre-harvest months of October to December. Locally known as monga, this situation is characterised by a dearth of earning opportunities for landless and wage labourers. In 2010, PRIME started working in the natural disaster-prone south-western region. The region had just been hit by a cyclone and other calamities and had been suffering from water salinity and acute poverty. Presided over by PKSF chairman Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, the programme was addressed by finance secretary Mahbub Ahmed and PKSF managing director Abdul Karim. I believe we will get rid of poverty by 2024. However, poverty-free Bangladesh will not mean that there will be no poor people at all. There will be some disabled, old people who may still be poor, said Muhith. He pointed out that even developed countries have eight to 10 per cent poor people. Such people will depend on the state. We are taking initiatives to give them protection, he added. He said PKSF was playing a vital role in eradicating poverty through its microfinance activities. Mahbub Ahmed said poverty has gone down in Bangladesh, but discrimination is yet to go. Government efforts towards the eradication of poverty have paid off. We have beaten recession, he said. Dr Kholiquzzaman said PRIME has been completed successfully. Our monitoring will continue. People will not benefit from the project if monitoring stops, he said.