Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury has stressed building a strong, institutional partnership between NGOs, the private sector and the government. He also set out four specific conditions that must be met for projects to be approved, saying no project would get approval in future unless the four are fulfilled.
He was speaking as chief guest on Tuesday at a seminar titled “Beyond Foreign Dependence: The Future of NGO Financing in Bangladesh” in the conference room of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).
The minister said the government is working to resolve the various crises that have arisen in the country and to ensure accountability. “We do not only want to listen, we also want to respond effectively,” he said.
Setting out the need for an integrated framework for human development, the protection of local culture and private-sector participation, the minister said NGOs and others concerned are already working in many areas, including the creative economy. This partnership needs to be given a more institutional and policy-based form, he said.
Referring to the combined role of NGOs, the private sector and the government, he said NGOs play a very important role in taking the government’s services directly to the marginal level. He called for the path to sustainable financing for NGOs to be eased by setting a specific timeframe and by framing and implementing policy.
Highlighting the heritage of local crafts including shital pati, the minister said: “To take these traditional products of ours to the international market, we must strengthen modern design, value addition and marketing.”
At the event the minister placed special emphasis on ensuring four conditions in approving projects: value for money, return on investment, the creation of jobs or entrepreneurs, and environmental considerations and protection. He made clear that no project would be approved unless these four conditions were met.
State Minister for Planning Md Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki, Planning Division Secretary S M Shakil Akhter and others were present at the seminar.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report