ASSIGNMENT

ON

FUNDAMENTAL OF BUSINESS & BANGLADESH STUDIES

Prepared for:

Dr. Shawquatul Meher

Professor

Faculty of Business Administration

University of Chittagong

Prepared By:

Sumit Sushil Bappi

Mohammad Ariful Hasan

Sree Sanjib Majumdar

Md. Abdur Rahim

ID: 1406066

ID: 1406085

ID: 1406067

ID: 1406079

Date of Submission: 1st April 2015

CONTENTS

Financial Administration on GOB Page 01

Organization of Finance Ministry Page 02

Fiscal Policy & Fiscal Management Page 05

Export Policy & Import Policy Page 25

Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) Page 28

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FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION OF GOB

Financial structure

Much of the present financial structure in Bangladesh dates back more than 100 years. Thus proving to have been extremely robust. It was designed, however, when the volume of transactions was much smaller & simpler, especially with regard to development programs & the rising to funds to finance them.

Through the finance division, ministry of finance, has the ultimate overall responsibility for financial administration & expenditure control, under the constitution of Bangladesh it is the comptroller & auditor general who has been made responsible, with the approval of the president, for the form & manner of keeping government accounts.

The constitution also give the govt. the power to require the law that the comptroller & auditor general exercise such functions, in addition to the auditing & reporting functions specified, as such law may precisable.

Fig: Financial Administration existing structure Fig: Proposed revised financial administration structure

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ORGANIZATION OF FINANCE MINISTRY

Introduction

Budget provides an indication of how a country manages its public finances so as to maximize the benefit for its citizens. Budget is also reflective of the road map for national development. A huge amount of information is contained in the Budget Documents. However, while every citizen is, one way or other, affected by the budget, only a few fully understand its significance. For the citizens to have a comprehensive understanding of the national budget, it is essential that they understand the basics of budgeting, budget terminology, key components of the budget cycle, budget data and the implications the budget has for national development.

Functions:

The Ministry of Finance is responsible for over-seeing the function of the financial institutions of the country and also plans, implement and control public expenditure policies and programs of the Government. Both fiscal and monetary policies fall under its jurisdiction. A number of measures have been undertaken by the Government during the nineties to strengthen the banking system. These include improvement of legal and regulatory framework, passage of the Bankruptcy Act, 1997 and the Loan Court Amendment Act by Parliament, enforcement of loan classification guide-lines, recapitalization of nationalized commercial banks and the formation of Banking Reform Committee.

The Government is keen to correct and remedy past failures and imperfections in the financial markets. The reforms of the financial sector and trade liberalization are being complemented by an appropriate foreign exchange measures. An active exchange rate policy to maintain the competitiveness of the economy is also being followed.

The local currency Taka has been made convertible in all current account transactions. Laws have been amended to boost private and foreign investment in the financial sector. A number of stock Exchanges, foreign banks and financial institutions are already active and also fully operational in the country.

What is the Budget?

We all have needs that we want to satisfy. We can meet them by paying for the particular products or services. As our resources are not unlimited we need to make choices and prioritize what we find most important to meet. We decide upon what to do with the money we receive and how we will spend that money.

Similarly, in a national perspective, the Government has needs in order to fulfill its commitments and to provide services to the people. Because of scarcity of resources the Government has to make choices and prioritize national needs. Accordingly, the Government plans its revenue collection and sectoral expenditure for the coming year.

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The National Budget

The National Budget is an account of how the Government proposes to collect revenue and spend the collected money over a period of one year. The budget usually sets out expenditure plans in accordance with the Government’s priorities. The Finance Division of the Ministry of Finance is responsible for the preparation of the national budget and its presentation to the Parliament. It is also responsible for monitoring the implementation of the budget. The budget must be approved by the Parliament before it can be implemented.

The ministries/divisions have their budget allocations in two categories namely Non-development and Development. Non-development budget allocations are finalized by the Finance Division in consultation with the Line Ministries. Annual Development Program – (ADP) allocations are finalized by the Planning Commission in consultation with Ministries and Divisions and then forwarded to the Finance Division for translation into the Development Budget.

Some essential features of the national budget:

• The budget is prepared using the Medium Term Budget Framework (MTBF), an approach to budgeting that integrates policy, planning and budgeting within a medium term framework (estimates for 1 year, and projection for 4 years);

• Budget preparation (allocations of resources) is carried out in accordance with the government’s strategic priorities;

• The budget process focuses on the services (outputs) delivered as well as the resources required (inputs); and

• The budget process promotes predictability and creates opportunities to harmonize recurrent and capital spending.

Budget consists of 4 main components:

Revenue Expenditures Deficit Financing

Budget preparation

Under the MTBF, the budget preparation process is completed in three phases:

Strategic Phase Estimating Phase Budget Approval Phase

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It is necessary to prepare/update Ministry Budget Framework (MBF) by Ministries/Divisions and

other Institutions in the Strategic Phase. The main objectives of revising and updating MBFs are:

(i) to make the linkage between Government's policy-priorities and the budgetary allocations more explicit;

(ii) to strengthen the linkage between budgetary allocations and performance of the Ministries/Divisions/Other Institutions and their subordinate departments and agencies; and

(iii) to prepare a realistic expenditure plan for the Ministries/Divisions/Other Institutions on the basis of the resources available in the medium term.

People’s participation in the budget process

An active involvement of citizens in the budget process will ensure more transparent and accountable management of public money that will, in turn, help reflect citizens' demands in the national budget in a more effective way. There are two main possibilities for citizens to influence the budget:

1. Pre-budget consultation at the central and regional level are held with the members of the Parliamentary Standing Committees, think-tanks, research institutions, economists, media representatives, private sector representatives, civil society organizations, and NGO representatives; and

2. Participatory planning and open budget meetings are held at grassroot level. In participatory planning meetings the local governments gather information to decide upon policy priorities, revenue collection and expenditure. In open budget meetings the views of participants are discussed and incorporated in the budget, where possible.

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FISCAL POLICY & MANAGEMENT

What Is Fiscal Policy?

Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its spending levels and tax rates to monitor and influence a nation's economy. It is the sister strategy to monetary policy through which a central bank influences a nation's money supply. These two policies are used in various combinations to direct a country's economic goals. Here we look at how fiscal policy works, how it must be monitored and how its implementation may affect different people in an economy.

Before the Great Depression, which lasted from Sept. 4, 1929 to the late 1930s or early 1940s, the government's approach to the economy was laissez-faire. Following World War II, it was determined that the government had to take a proactive role in the economy to regulate unemployment, business cycles, inflation and the cost of money. By using a mix of monetary and fiscal policies (depending on the political orientations and the philosophies of those in power at a particular time, one policy may dominate over another), governments are able to control economic phenomena.

How Fiscal Policy Works

Fiscal policy is based on the theories of British economist John Maynard Keynes. Also known as Keynesian economics, this theory basically states that governments can influence macroeconomic productivity levels by increasing or decreasing tax levels and public spending. This influence, in turn, curbs inflation (generally considered to be healthy when between 2-3%), increases employment and maintains a healthy value of money. Fiscal policy is very important to the economy. For example, in 2012 many worried that the fiscal cliff, a simultaneous increase in tax rates and cuts in government spending set to occur in January 2013, would send the U.S. economy back to recession. The U.S. Congress avoided this problem by passing the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 on Jan. 1, 2013.

Balancing Act

The idea, however, is to find a balance between changing tax rates and public spending. For example, stimulating a stagnant economy by increasing spending or lowering taxes runs the risk of causing inflation to rise. This is because an increase in the amount of money in the economy, followed by an increase in consumer demand, can result in a decrease in the value of money - meaning that it would take more money to buy something that has not changed in value.

Let's say that an economy has slowed down. Unemployment levels are up, consumer spending is down and businesses are not making substantial profits. A government thus decides to fuel the economy's engine by decreasing taxation, which gives consumers more spending money, while increasing government spending in the form of buying services from the market (such as building roads or schools). By paying for such services, the government creates jobs and wages that are in turn pumped into the economy. Pumping money into the economy by decreasing taxation and increasing government spending is also known as "pump priming." In the meantime, overall unemployment levels will fall.

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With more money in the economy and fewer taxes to pay, consumer demand for goods and services increases. This, in turn, rekindles businesses and turns the cycle around from stagnant to active.

If, however, there are no reins on this process, the increase in economic productivity can cross over a very fine line and lead to too much money in the market. This excess in supply decreases the value of money while pushing up prices (because of the increase in demand for consumer products). Hence, inflation exceeds the reasonable level.

For this reason, fine tuning the economy through fiscal policy alone can be a difficult, if not improbable, means to reach economic goals. If not closely monitored, the line between a productive economy and one that is infected by inflation can be easily blurred.

And When the Economy Needs to Be Curbed …

When inflation is too strong, the economy may need a slowdown. In such a situation, a government can use fiscal policy to increase taxes to suck money out of the economy. Fiscal policy could also dictate a decrease in government spending and thereby decrease the money in circulation. Of course, the possible negative effects of such a policy in the long run could be a sluggish economy and high unemployment levels. Nonetheless, the process continues as the government uses its fiscal policy to fine-tune spending and taxation levels, with the goal of evening out the business cycles.

Who Does Fiscal Policy Affect?

Unfortunately, the effects of any fiscal policy are not the same for everyone. Depending on the political orientations and goals of the policymakers, a tax cut could affect only the middle class, which is typically the largest economic group. In times of economic decline and rising taxation, it is this same group that may have to pay more taxes than the wealthier upper class.

Similarly, when a government decides to adjust its spending, its policy may affect only a specific group of people. A decision to build a new bridge, for example, will give work and more income to hundreds of construction workers. A decision to spend money on building a new space shuttle, on the other hand, benefits only a small, specialized pool of experts, which would not do much to increase aggregate employment levels.

The Bottom Line

One of the biggest obstacles facing policymakers is deciding how much involvement the government should have in the economy. Indeed, there have been various degrees of interference by the government over the years. But for the most part, it is accepted that a degree of government involvement is necessary to sustain a vibrant economy, on which the economic well-being of the population depends.

In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government revenue collection (mainly taxes) and expenditure (spending) to influence the economy.[1] According to Keynesian economics, when the government changes the levels of taxation and government spending, it

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influences aggregate demand and the level of economic activity. Fiscal policy can be used to stabilize the economy over the course of the business cycle.[2]

The two main instruments of fiscal policy are changes in the level and composition of taxation and government spending in various sectors. These changes can affect the following macroeconomic variables, amongst others, in an economy:

Aggregate demand and the level of economic activity;

Savings and Investment in the economy

The distribution of income

Fiscal policy can be distinguished from monetary policy, in that fiscal policy deals with taxation and government spending and is often administered by an executive under laws of a legislature, whereas monetary policy deals with the money supply, lending rates and interest rates and is often administered by a central bank.

Stances

The three main stances of fiscal policy are:

neutral fiscal policy is usually undertaken when an economy is in equilibrium. Government spending is fully funded by tax revenue and overall the budget outcome has a neutral effect on the level of economic activity.

Expansionary fiscal policy involves government spending exceeding tax revenue, and is usually undertaken during recessions.

Contractionary fiscal policy occurs when government spending is lower than tax revenue, and is usually undertaken to pay down government debt.

However, these definitions can be misleading because, even with no changes in spending or tax laws at all, cyclic fluctuations of the economy cause cyclic fluctuations of tax revenues and of some types of government spending, altering the deficit situation; these are not considered to be policy changes. Therefore, for purposes of the above definitions, "government spending" and "tax revenue" are normally replaced by "cyclically adjusted government spending" and "cyclically adjusted tax revenue". Thus, for example, a government budget that is balanced over the course of the business cycle is considered to represent a neutral fiscal policy stance.

Methods of funding

Governments spend money on a wide variety of things, from the military and police to services like education and healthcare, as well as transfer payments such as welfare benefits. This expenditure can be funded in a number of different ways:

Taxation

Seigniorage, the benefit from printing money

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Borrowing money from the population or from abroad Consumption of fiscal reserves Sale of fixed assets (e.g., land)

Borrowing

A fiscal deficit is often funded by issuing bonds, like treasury bills or consols and gilt-edged securities. These pay interest, either for a fixed period or indefinitely. If the interest and capital requirements are too large, a nation may default on its debts, usually to foreign creditors. Public debt or borrowing refers to the government borrowing from the public.

Consuming prior surpluses

A fiscal surplus is often saved for future use, and may be invested in either local currency or any financial instrument that may be traded later once resources are needed; notice, additional debt is not needed. For this to happen, the marginal propensity to save needs to be strictly positive.

Economic effects

Governments use fiscal policy to influence the level of aggregate demand in the economy, in an effort to achieve economic objectives of price stability, full employment, and economic growth. Keynesian economics suggests that increasing government spending and decreasing tax rates are the best ways to stimulate aggregate demand, and decreasing spending & increasing taxes after the economic boom begins. Keynesians argue this method be used in times of recession or low economic activity as an essential tool for building the framework for strong economic growth and working towards full employment. In theory, the resulting deficits would be paid for by an expanded economy during the boom that would follow; this was the reasoning behind the New Deal.

Governments can use a budget surplus to do two things: to slow the pace of strong economic growth, and to stabilize prices when inflation is too high. Keynesian theory posits that removing spending from the economy will reduce levels of aggregate demand and contract the economy, thus stabilizing prices.

But economists still debate the effectiveness of fiscal stimulus. The argument mostly centers on crowding out: whether government borrowing leads to higher interest rates that may offset the stimulative impact of spending. When the government runs a budget deficit, funds will need to come from public borrowing (the issue of government bonds), overseas borrowing, or monetizing the debt. When governments fund a deficit with the issuing of government bonds, interest rates can increase across the market, because government borrowing creates higher demand for credit in the financial markets. This causes a lower aggregate demand for goods and services, contrary to the objective of a fiscal stimulus. Neoclassical economists generally emphasize crowding out while Keynesians argue that fiscal policy can still be effective especially in a liquidity trap where, they argue, crowding out is minimal.

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Some classical and neoclassical economists argue that crowding out completely negates any fiscal stimulus; this is known as the Treasury View[citation needed], which Keynesian economics rejects. The Treasury View refers to the theoretical positions of classical economists in the British Treasury, who opposed Keynes' call in the 1930s for fiscal stimulus. The same general argument has been repeated by some neoclassical economists up to the present.

In the classical view, the expansionary fiscal policy also decreases net exports, which has a mitigating effect on national output and income. When government borrowing increases interest rates it attracts foreign capital from foreign investors. This is because, all other things being equal, the bonds issued from a country executing expansionary fiscal policy now offer a higher rate of return. In other words, companies wanting to finance projects must compete with their government for capital so they offer higher rates of return. To purchase bonds originating from a certain country, foreign investors must obtain that country's currency. Therefore, when foreign capital flows into the country undergoing fiscal expansion, demand for that country's currency increases. The increased demand causes that country's currency to appreciate. Once the currency appreciates, goods originating from that country now cost more to foreigners than they did before and foreign goods now cost less than they did before. Consequently, exports decrease and imports increase.[4]

Some economists oppose the discretionary use of fiscal stimulus because of the inside lag (the time lag involved in implementing it), which is almost inevitably long because of the substantial legislative effort involved. Further, the outside lag between the time of implementation and the time that most of the effects of the stimulus are felt could mean that the stimulus hits an already-recovering economy and exacerbates the ensuing boom rather than stimulating the economy when it needs it.

Some economists are concerned about potential inflationary effects driven by increased demand engendered by a fiscal stimulus. In theory, fiscal stimulus does not cause inflation when it uses resources that would have otherwise been idle. For instance, if a fiscal stimulus employs a worker who otherwise would have been unemployed, there is no inflationary effect; however, if the stimulus employs a worker who otherwise would have had a job, the stimulus is increasing labor demand while labor supply remains fixed, leading to wage inflation and therefore price inflation.

Fiscal management goals

The goal of fiscal management is to maintain fiscal records and procedures of the Agency that provides protection for the resources of the Agency as well as records and procedures, which generate economy, effectiveness and efficiency of the operation.

The Agency will operate under State Department of Public Instruction ordered Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

Priority Objectives:

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1. Record keeping, which protects the Agency and its clients from misuses and/or abuse of its resources?

2. Fiscal management that establishes economy in purchase and operations of the Agency and its programs.

3. Fiscal management that readily accesses information for purposes of decision-making.

4. Fiscal record keeping that provides the Agency's constituents and the general public with accountability for its operation in an easily understandable format.

5. Detailed budgeting of all CESA 8 sponsored activities to insure that each program is satisfactorily funded and that costs are substantiated and equitable.

Accommodating purchases

It shall be the policy of the CESA 8 Board of Control to prohibit accommodating purchase for any reason. This policy is designed to protect the Agency's status as a tax-exempt organization.

Accommodating purchases are defined as any purchase of supplies, equipment, or services made for an individual in the name of CESA 8. Accommodating purchases might be made in order to take advantage of school pricing or to avoid payment of sales tax.

Reprimands will take place as determined by the Agency Administrator and Fiscal Manager.

Accounting system

The CESA 8 fiscal department shall:

A. Maintain double entry ledger and journal records using WCESAAS chart of accounts.

B. Reconcile bank account statements monthly.

C. Reconcile bank account to the ledgers monthly.

D. Reconcile funds when entered.

An audit of all accounts of the agency will be conducted annually by an independent auditing firm who is authorized to conduct such an audit by the Department of Public Instruction. The board has the authority to hire the auditing firm annually. Upon completion of the audit, representatives of the auditing firm, if requested by the board, will make a presentation to the board on the results of their audit. If the board does not specifically request representatives of the auditing firm, the Fiscal Manager will present the audit. The auditing firm will complete all forms as requested by the Department of Public Instruction regarding the annual audit.

Annual operating budget

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The Fiscal Manager shall be responsible for informing the Agency Administrator and the CESA 8 Board of Control of all fiscal matters and shall use professional judgment in maintaining sound fiscal policy in the operation of all Cooperative Educational Service Agency 8 activities.

The Agency fiscal year shall be July I through June 30.

The CESA 8 Administration, Fiscal and Building budgets will be prepared by the Fiscal Manager under the direction of the Agency Administrator and will be approved by the CESA 8 Board of Control at the July board meeting.

Budget deadlines and schedules will be set by the Fiscal Manager, as appropriate, for the best working relationship to meet school district needs.

Budget planning will be a cooperative effort of the program director, consultants, advisory councils when appropriate, and the Fiscal Manager. Budgets are estimates of income and expenditures to conduct a specific program of the agency. Budget changes shall be submitted to the appropriate funding authority on a timely basis to ensure CESA 8 receives the revenue from the granting agency.

Budgets for joint-sponsored projects must be approved by the administrators of all sponsors. Amendments to the budget should be made in accordance with the following policies:

1. Budget changes not affecting payments to employees of the sponsoring agency would require approval by the project managers.

2. Budget changes affecting payments to employees of the sponsoring agencies or districts, including project managers, would require approval by all administrators.

Budget priorities will be a continuous process to be determined by the program Directors/Consultants with input from districts through advisory councils, as appropriate, the Agency Administrator and the Fiscal Manager. All changes over ten percent (10%) will be approved by the Agency Administrator.

The Fiscal Manager shall be authorized to make intra-fund and inter-fund transfers during the fiscal year for the smooth operation of Agency programs.

Budgets for EEN programs in Fund 97 will be prepared by the special education department in February for the following school year. School district contracts will include those budget figures. School districts will only be charged the actual expenditures of their portion from each program.

Automobiles and other vehicles

In the operation of the agency, it may be necessary for CESA 8 to own or lease automobiles and other vehicles. The Board of Control will make the final determination as to the number of vehicles owned or leased by CESA 8 based on the recommendations of the Agency

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Administrator. The administrator shall keep the board informed on the number of vehicles it owns and on the conditions of the automobiles and vehicles annually.

The administrator will make recommendations to the board on the replacement of various automobiles and vehicles based on condition, mileage and age of the vehicles. The vehicles to be replaced shall either be traded in or sold by the agency. The board will make the final decision if a replacement of an automobile or vehicle is to be made.

When an automobile or vehicle needs to be purchased or leased, the board will authorize the administrator to prepare specifications and send them to various automobile dealers within the agency and to auto dealers who previously bid on automobiles. Likewise, bid notices shall be published in daily newspapers within the agency. A deadline date will be set for accepting all bids. After all bids have been secured, the administrator will prepare a bid sheet listing all bidders and their prices. The board will then make the decision as to what bid to accept in the best interest of the agency.

The Agency Administrator will assign the automobiles and vehicles to certain employees of the agency in accordance with their job responsibilities. It is the responsibility of the person to whom a vehicle is assigned to see that the vehicle is properly serviced and maintained. They also are responsible to notify the administrator of malfunctions, which could affect the safe operation of the vehicle. When a CESA vehicle is in the shop for planned maintenance, employees will need to use their own vehicles.

Cellular Phone Reimbursement

CESA 8 recognizes the utility of cellular phones as a tool in our workplace. Though CESA 8 does not own any cellular phones (except for the delivery van), we have determined the need to pay for the work related use of personally owned units. Therefore, the following are the parameters of submitting a billing statement for payment on the monthly expense request:

a. CESA 8 will pay for all call costs (roam, long distance, and minutes) attributable to CESA 8 activities based on a detailed billing statement above and beyond the plan minutes.

b. CESA 8 will pay a percentage of the basic plan plus voice mail, etc. (for any plan up to $60 per month) based on the number of days the cell phone was used for CESA 8 business. (For example: the base is 21.7 work days. If you have used it for CESA 8 business on 18 of those days, CESA 8 will pay for 83% of that costs [.83 X $60 = $49.80].) The number of days claimed in a yearly July-June period must not exceed your yearly contract amount (200 days, 210 days, 220 days, etc.).

c. CESA 8 will not pay for personal phone installation in either agency or personal vehicles.

Unusual circumstances related to your cellular phone usage should be discussed with the Agency Administrator.

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Cellular phone use while operating a motor vehicle is strongly discouraged. Employees should plan cell phone use for times when they are not driving or should pull over before talking. This means for both incoming and outgoing calls.

Contracts

All services provided by CESA 8 to local school districts will be initiated by the use of a written contract. The contract will indicate the services provided by CESA 8 along with the estimated costs for such services.

All contracts must be approved by both the board of education of the local school district and the CESA 8 Board of Control. Contracts will be signed by the Board President or Clerk and the District Administrator of the local school district and by the Board of Control President and the Board of Control Secretary/Administrator. Copies of the completed contracts will be issued to both parties.

Depository

Annually, the Board of Control will designate a financial institution or institutions to be the depository of the funds of the agency. This designation will occur at the July Board of Control meeting. The designation of the depository will be made in accordance with state statute and the rules and regulations of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

Expense reimbursements

CESA 8 staff shall be reimbursed upon presentation of an itemized expense voucher for approved actual travel expenses as per contractual agreement or by authorization and direction of the Agency Administrator. All expenses over $5.00 must be accompanied by supporting receipts. The Agency Administrator shall be empowered to allow CESA 8 directors and consultants to attend out-of-state meetings related to present or future CESA 8 projects, provided adequate funding is available. A Prior Approval form must be filled out for any travel outside of the employee’s normal working area (i.e., district’s or agencies served). The Agency Administrator's out of state travel shall be approved by the Board of Control Chairperson.

Federal OMB Circular A-21 guidelines will be used to determine legitimate CESA 8 expenditures.

Mileage will be paid for travel required as part of the employee's work responsibilities for CESA 8. Such reimbursement will be the current IRS rate at the beginning of the fiscal year. Mileage will not be paid for travel to and from an employee's home and regularly scheduled place of work. When employees must begin or end their workday at a location other than their regularly scheduled place of work, mileage may be claimed for that distance which exceeds the distance between the employee's home and regular place of work.

Other travel expenses will be paid for based on the current IRS rate at the beginning of the fiscal year. Please refer to the CESA 8 Current Reimbursement Allowances Chart for further detail on allowable expenses and current amounts.

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Facility and equipment

The CESA 8 operation needs to have a facility in which to conduct its business and house its staff, materials and equipment. CESA 8 has the responsibility to see that the facility provides a safe and healthy environment for its employees and clients. The Agency Administrator of CESA 8 is responsible for the daily operations of the facility. The building and grounds of CESA 8 should be inspected periodically by the administrator to insure that all systems are operating properly and all repair items are noted. Major repairs and maintenance items must be brought to the attention of the Board of Control for their review and decision. Non-work related objects shall not be used in any office to endanger the safety or health of the employee in that office or other employees in the building. Equipment may be used by employee’s for personal purposes outside of regular business hours on a cost reimbursement basis as determined by the administrator.

Utilities need to be monitored and conserved as much as possible. It is the responsibility of Agency Administrator or designee to oversee the operations of the systems, which utilize the various utility products. The administrator is to make sure all heating; ventilating and cooling systems are operating properly and efficiently. Likewise, it is the administrator’s responsibility to see that electrical usage is controlled and used in an efficient manner. The administrator should order normal operating repairs, and adjustments, and should correct any emergency situations. Major repairs and improvements (over $5,000) dealing with utility operations must be approved by the board.

The CESA 8 facility must be secure so that all records, materials and equipment are safe. All doors to the office are to be locked each evening. Only authorized personnel are to be issued keys to the building. Any person working in the office after normal operating hours is responsible to sign in the afterhours book and to see that the building is locked and secure when they leave.

The equipment owned or leased by CESA 8 must be properly maintained and be replaced when appropriate. The Agency Administrator or designee is responsible to insure that all equipment is properly maintained and used in a safe and efficient manner. Individual employees of the agency are to inform the administrator if equipment is not operating properly. Likewise, new equipment needs should be made known through the regular budget process so that unexpected expenditures will not be needed. Emergency equipment purchases will be determined by the administrator unless it is a major purchase (more than $5,000), which then needs board approval.

The computer network will be adequate to perform the administrative operations of the agency. Provision for expansion, updating and maintenance of the network will be made within reasonable limits, as to not overtax the budgets of the various CESA 8 programs. The acquisition of both hardware and software will be based on the goals and objectives of the administrative services desired. Replacement of equipment or software to update to newer or faster equipment or software will be purchased from the program budget, which the person works for. It is the responsibility of the Agency Administrator or designee to see that the personnel

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who operate the computers are properly trained. The administrator is authorized to enter into maintenance agreements to properly maintain the network equipment or to send it to proper repair facilities for maintenance work. Printers, scanners, digital cameras are the responsibility of the program directors. They have the discretion of having the equipment repaired or replaced out of their program budgets. CESA 8 employees who use the equipment are responsible for the daily, weekly and monthly maintenance of the equipment.

Fiscal accounting, reporting and statements

The CESA 8 Fiscal Manager will establish and maintain a financial accounting system in accordance with applicable state and federal laws, state department regulations, Board policies, and generally accepted accounting principles. This financial accounting system will accurately reflect the financial condition of CESA 8 and will provide appropriate reports to the CESA 8 Board of Control and school districts.

The Board of Control will receive and make final approval of all expenditures of the agency each month.

The Fiscal Manager shall provide the Agency Administrator and the CESA 8 Board of Control with a regular report of the financial condition of the Agency. This report shall include: 1. a detailed monthly report of all expenditures by check number.

2. a financial summary showing the balance on hand as of the last day of the previous month, totals of receipts and expenditures for current month

3. the balance on hand for all accounts as of the last day of the current month as reconciled with the bank statement

4. all outstanding short-term debts and investments as of the last day of the previous month.

Monthly expenditure and revenue reports will be distributed to the appropriate project manager for them to review and keep on file for their reference. Department personnel will consult with the Fiscal Manager to develop reports that may be needed for distribution to school districts or steering committees in order to assure that the reports correctly state the position of the department and/or project. The reports shall be signed by the Fiscal Manager and Agency Administrator. In addition the Fiscal Manager shall:

1. Review and establish financial systems in Agency departments, including specific procedures being completed by department employees, approve all changes, modifications and enhancements to financial systems.

2. Approve the design, testing and implementation of any automated financial record-keeping system being purchased or written for use in the departments.

3. Monitor compliance with prescribed financial record-keeping procedures, including timeliness of completion of procedures.

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4. Provide training to employees who work with financial systems of the Agency.

All financial reports required by state and federal regulations will be completed as necessary. The Fiscal Manager under the direction of the Agency Administrator is responsible for having all financial reports completed and submitted as requested and/or required by federal or state regulations.

Fixed asset inventories

An annual fixed asset inventory of all furniture and equipment valued at more than $500 shall be maintained under the supervision of the Fiscal Manager for insurance purposes and property control. The fixed asset depreciation spreadsheet will be maintained and current year depreciation expenses will be charged out at the end of the fiscal year. A copy will be kept in the CESA 8 safe deposit box.

To ensure complete records, the following information shall be maintained:

1. A description of the property.

2. Manufacturer's serial number, model number, or other identification number.

3. Source of funding the property (Fund-Project).

4. Acquisition date and cost of the property.

5. Location of the property and the date the information was recorded.

6. Ultimate disposition data, including date of disposal and sales price or the method used to determine current value.

Each department, program director, and CESA 8 employee will be responsible to assist in compiling the annual inventory. Upon the expiration of grants all equipment will become the property of the agency except where grant requirements provide a different distribution plan.

Gifts and bequests

The board may accept on behalf of and for the agency any bequest or gift of money or property for a purpose deemed by the board to be suitable, and to utilize such money or property as designated.

All gifts and bequests must be in compliance with state and federal laws. Since CESA 8 has a tax-exempt status, the gifts and bequests are governed by the laws regulating tax-exempt organizations.

All gifts and bequests will be brought to the attention of the Board of Control for its review and acceptance or denial.

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Grant proposals

Guidelines:

1. Grant pre-applications and applications must be approved by the CESA 8 Board of Control.

2. Grant proposals shall be consistent with the CESA 8 Mission Statement.

3. The CESA 8 Board of Control encourages CESA 8 staff to apply for grants with the additional guidelines:

a. Grants shall be designed to provide continued long-term benefits.

b. Grants which eventually may require local district financing must initially have local district commitment.

c. Grants should be applied for when the Agency/program is able to commit to and fulfill the purpose of each grant.

4. The Fiscal Manager shall directly supervise the preparation of all state and federal grant applications and budgets. Supervise the preparation of claims for reimbursement and other required grant financial reports.

Insurance

It is necessary for CESA 8 to carry adequate insurance coverage to see that all board members, employees and the agency itself is protected in the event of lawsuits and accidents. The Agency Administrator has the responsibility to see that all needed policies are in force. When the time of a policy is to expire, the administrator shall inform the board and secure the necessary information to help the board make a decision as to the company and coverage desired for the agency. All policies shall cover all aspects of the CESA 8 operations and shall protect the agency from any catastrophic loss.

CESA 8 will carry both property and liability insurance policies. The property coverage should be at the replacement value and with an appropriate deductible amount. An open and inland marine policy shall also be a part of the property insurance policy. Appropriate liability coverage should be maintained to reflect the current trends of society and the legal system. A policy shall be taken by CESA 8 to cover the computer network and workstations of the agency.

An errors and omission policy should be in force by the agency to cover all board members, administrators and employees. An appropriate deductible amount should be a part of the policy.

CESA 8 should have an umbrella policy to cover all aspects of a potential loss to the agency. An appropriate deductible amount should be a part of the policy.

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All automobiles and other vehicles owned by the agency must be covered by an insurance policy. All aspects of such coverage shall be included in the policy. A reasonable deductible amount shall be a part of the policy.

Appropriate fidelity bond coverage will be secured for all personnel responsible for CESA 8 funds. Coverage will be provided for the Board of Control, Agency Administrator, Fiscal Manager and any other employees or board members deemed necessary by the CESA 8 Board of Control. Wis. State Statues 116.03 (9)

CESA 8 shall carry a worker’s compensation policy as required by Wisconsin statute.

CESA 8 shall have a boiler insurance policy to cover all aspects of this operation.

Internal services

The purpose of this policy shall be to establish procedures and guidelines as to the competition with third parties in the delivery of services to school districts and to improve the accountability of decisions of this CESA to produce goods and services. This policy is adopted by the CESA 8 Board of Control pursuant to the authority vested in it at s.116.01, Wisconsin Statutes.

A. Definitions: The following definitions shall apply herein unless the context dictates otherwise:

1. “Internal Services” shall mean those governmental or proprietary services provided by this CESA to other departments or agencies of the State of Wisconsin, the school districts which it serves, or other governmental units on a cost-reimbursement basis. Said definition shall further be limited to those activities covered under Fund 60 as outlined in the WCESAAS handbook.

2. “Vendor-like Activities” shall be defined as being activities not directly instructional in nature.

B. Development of Internal Services Provision:

The development and provision of internal services may occur upon determination of this CESA of persuasive evidence of both need and desirability. In addition, before being offered, such internal services shall have a reasonable commitment of support, cooperation and participation by local school districts. The materials, supplies or services provided shall be of such a nature and acceptable quality, price and quantity, among other factors, as based upon a comparison with other providers, both public and private sector, as deemed to be not readily available.

C. Process of Establishing An Internal Service:

1. The initiation of an internal service will customarily be upon the basis of a perceived need of one or more member school districts. Upon communication of such need to the CESA, a determination whether or not to fill said need shall be based upon consideration of the availability of the service or materials through other suppliers and shall be reviewed by a professional advisory committee, with notification made to member districts and presentation to the CESA 8 Board of Control for approval.

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2. Prior to approval by the CESA 8 Board of Control, documentation shall be established showing how the perceived need was expressed and the feasibility of service or product evaluated and validated. Additionally, data shall be filed projecting development costs and means of financing. Projects shall also include revenue and expenditure data showing the maintenance of the activity over the assumed period of program duration.

3. Upon approval of a project plan, the CESA 8 Board of Control shall assume responsibilities for assuring strict adherence to the proposed plan and dissemination of information as to that plan to member school districts.

D. Considerations in Approving a Project Plan for Delivery of Internal Services:

1. Need and availability assessment: It shall be determined whether the material or service in question is an improvement upon, as pertaining to such criteria as quality, quantity, price, delivery or mode of administration, from those services or materials available from other sources.

2. Accounting: The WCESAAS structure of fund accounting by function and object shall be utilized for proper accounting of internal service activities. It is required that accurate reports be provided relative to the following:

a. Segregation of expenditures and revenue for each internal service, including both materials utilized and personnel.

b. The accounting procedures shall account for the cost of research, development, promotion and distribution of material and/or service, when applicable.

c. Cost effectiveness and projected balance of the internal service shall also be demonstrated in the accounting system.

3. Promotion: Each internal service approved of pursuant to this policy shall be promoted, the purpose of which promotion shall be to make school districts that are potential beneficiaries thereof aware that such a service or materials exist.

4. Periodic Review: Whether an internal service will continue to be provided shall be determined by the CESA 8 Board of Control through the means of a periodic review of continued need and cost effectiveness.

5. Cost Effectiveness: Each internal service shall be self-supporting. When an internal service is not immediately self-supporting, the Board of Control shall take action to establish funding by loans from other funds. Continued failure of an internal service to become self-supporting shall be a cause for its termination.

6. Accounting Policy: Effective July 1, 1990, all revenue and expenditures related to internal services shall be processed through a separate enterprise fund.

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7. Fund Balance: A reasonable fund balance, in the amount of carryover balances, shall be capable of being maintained with respect to internal services. In the event such carryover balances exceed a reasonable amount, this CESA shall inform its member school districts of such carryover balances. Said information shall include, at a minimum, a copy of the CESA’s annual report with the cover letter signed by the administrator and the Board of Control chairperson. Said letter shall:

Detail the amount of excess balance. Detail the source of the excess balance. Detail the use of excess funds considered by the Board of Control; and State the Board of Control decision relative to the use of the excess funds. Internal Service Review Committee

CESA 8 shall participate in an Internal Service Review Committee to be established at the state level for purposes of implementing this policy and to review individual internal service policies and activities.

Invoicing

The Fiscal Department will issue invoices monthly based on requests to invoice turned in by the various program directors. The request to invoice states the service or product which is being purchased, along with date of service, quantity and purchase order number, if applicable. The request to invoice should be signed by the program director and Agency Administrator. The invoices will be processed in the Fiscal Department under the direction of the Fiscal Manager. Districts are expected to pay their invoices within 30 days of receipt. Accounts receivable will be reconciled on a regular basis to make sure invoices are collected in a timely basis. Invoices for contracted services will be sent to school districts by the end of July of each year. The invoices will request a ten (10) month pay period, payment to be paid August 31 – May 31. School districts have the option to pay bills earlier than the monthly payment schedule if they choose to do so. Invoices for EEN contracted services will be sent to school districts by the end of July of each year, based on thirty (30) percent of the budgets. Payments to be paid August 31 – October 31. In October the special education department will revise the EEN budgets based on staffing and enrollments. Then the remaining seventy (70) percent of the budgets will be invoiced by October 31. The remaining seven (7) payments to be paid November 30 – May 31. At the end of the school year, a final invoice or credit memo will be prepared to zero out the program accounts. Refunds to school districts will be paid within ninety (90) days of June 30, after accounts have been reconciled. All invoicing for any CESA 8 service or product must take place through the Fiscal department.

Loans to employees

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The CESA 8 Board of Control prohibits all loans of any type to Agency employees by anyone having access to Agency funds.

For the purposes of this policy, a loan is defined as any advancing of money to any employee, in any manner.

Petty cash account

The Board of Control authorizes the agency to have a petty cash account up to the amount of $100.00. The petty cash account is to be utilized to purchase small items or services, which do not require a purchase order to handle incidental needs. All purchases in the petty cash account need to have a receipt, and the expenditures classified and charged to the proper account as per the WCESSAS system.

The petty cash account is held by the Office Manager and monitored by the Fiscal Manager on a regular basis. Expenditures of the petty cash account are subject to the review of the Agency Administrator and the Board of Control.

Purchasing

The function of purchasing is to serve the educational programs by providing the necessary supplies, equipment, and services. The CESA 8 Board of Control declares its intention to seek maximum educational value for every dollar expended. A contract or purchase order shall be used to carry out purchasing activities.

The CESA 8 Board of Control assigns the program director the responsibility for the quality and quantity of purchases made. The prime guidelines governing this responsibility are that all purchases fall within the framework of budgetary limitations and that they be consistent with the approved educational goals and program grants of the Agency. Said purchases shall also be consistent with the individual program goals of the district participants in the program. The Fiscal Manager will make sure the funds are available for the specific purchase within the program. The Agency Administrator will have final approval of the purchase.

PURCHASING CRITERIA:

1. Best possible quality.

2. Lowest possible cost.

3. Specification of the user.

4. Availability when needed.

5. Least possible expenditure of time to acquire the purchase.

If all things are equal, consideration should be given to purchasing items and materials from communities of the school districts of the agency. Preference should also be given to purchasing items from within the state before buying from companies outside of the state.

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When goods have been received by the department, that department would submit to the Fiscal department a voucher approval (filled out and signed by the appropriate personnel), the invoice and a copy of the purchase order indicating that these goods have been received and the date of receipt. The person receiving the goods shall check to see that all items sent are received and in good condition.

Receipting of money

It is necessary to have a system of checks and balances for the receipting of money. The personnel assigned to receipt checks or cash received, deposit the revenue and record the receipt into the accounting system will be done under the supervision of the Fiscal Manager. The revenue will be recorded to the correct account based on the WECESSAS accounting system on a monthly basis.

Advance registration fees will be deposited as soon as they are received directly through the Fiscal Department. Departments that collect fees from participants in various conferences and/or workshops, the day of the workshop, will be issued receipt books from the Fiscal Department. Department personnel will receipt the participant’s money and then turn the checks and/or cash directly to the Fiscal Department. Fiscal personnel will then give a copy of the receipt back to the department personnel for their records.

Records retention

CESA 8 will follow the “Wisconsin Records Retention Schedule for School Districts” which is put out by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction for recommendations on time-lines for records management.

Confidential records should be shredded before disposed.

Rental income

At times, CESA 8 may receive income from the rental of materials, equipment or the use of the building. Such receipts will be considered local income. The income received will be credited to the appropriate account of the WCESAAS system.

All requests for rentals by CESA 8 will be approved by the Agency Administrator and reported to the Board of Control. Any questionable rental requests will be approved by the Board of Control.

Revenues from investments

The CESA 8 Board of Control considers an investment program to be a critical ingredient of sound fiscal management. Therefore, the CESA 8 Board of Control authorizes an investment program for the purpose of securing revenues in support of the Agency's educational programs.

The investment program shall be administered in a way that will ensure:

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1. A continuous process of temporary investing of all moneys available for investment purposes.

2. The Fiscal Manager should investigate interest rates from a minimum of two (2) financial institutions located within the CESA 8 service area.

3. That all Agency investments will be made in compliance with the law. Permitted investments include:

a. Certificates of deposit with maturities of one year or less (maturity should occur before June 30 of current year) in financial institutions which are financially secure and whose deposits are insured by the FDIC or its equivalent and are authorized to do business in Wisconsin.

b. Other securities (i.e.: commercial paper) which mature or may be tendered for purchase not more than one year of the date of acquisition, provide the security has a rating assigned by Standard & Poor's Corporation A1 rated, or Moody's Investors Service P1 rated.

The CESA 8 Board of Control authorizes the Fiscal Manager to direct all activities associated with the investment program in such manner as to accomplish the objectives of this policy.

The Fiscal Manager shall be authorized to execute, in the CESA 8 Board of Control's name, any or all documents relating to the investment program in a timely manner and to confer with reputable consultants regarding investment decisions when deemed necessary.

Investments will be approved by the Agency Administrator with the input of the data which the Fiscal Manager has collected appropriate to an investment.

Salaries/Fringe Benefits

The Board of Control will determine the salaries and fringe benefits for the employees of CESA 8. All payments of salaries and fringe benefits of the employees of CESA 8 shall be made in accordance with the WCESSAS accounting system. All necessary reports regarding these payments shall be completed and submitted as per Wisconsin and Federal laws by the Fiscal Department.

Sale or disposal of agency equipment and materials

Occasionally it is necessary for the Agency to sell or dispose of surplus or obsolete equipment and materials. Prior to any sale or disposal, the Fiscal Manager, or his/her designee, will determine if items have trade-in value toward replacement items, or if items can be used in other programs within the Agency.

Surplus or obsolete items of estimated value less than $500 will be sold or disposed of by the Fiscal Manager, or his/her designee, in a manner deemed appropriate. The sale or disposal of such items will first be offered to school districts within the agency before it is made available to the general public.

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Surplus or obsolete items of estimated value greater than $500 will be brought to the attention of the Agency Administrator and the CESA 8 Board of Control and the Board shall determine the method of sale or disposal and give final approval.

All funds received from the sale of Agency equipment and materials shall be deposited in the appropriate fund revenue account.

Short and long term borrowing

A. Short Term Borrowing

CESA 8 does not have any taxing authority and upon specific permission from the CESA 8 Board of Control, a given amount may be borrowed for short term purposes to meet current operating expenses. At no time shall the amount borrowed exceed 10% of the prior year's receipts for expenses incurred during the contracted year.

B. Long Term Borrowing

CESA 8 shall follow State Statutes on long term borrowing.

Unemployment compensation benefits

Unemployment compensation benefits paid by the Agency or by a host district under a package contract with the Agency shall be paid by the users on the same formula basis as was used to divide the program costs during the time the program was operated.

When programs are merged, all districts involved in the programs prior to the merger shall share resulting unemployment compensation costs.

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EXPORT POLICY & IMPORT POLICY

Introduction : Bangladesh emerged as an Independent country in 1971.She entered into international trade activity since 1972.In the early years of independence the gap between import and export was very wide. This gap started to decrease from 1980’s when Bangladesh adopted liberal trade policy consistent with the emerging trend of the market economy .

Objectives of the export policy : :

Objectives of the export policy : To export optimal products in maximum countries. Encouraging female labor in export oriented production. Increasing productivity. Ensuring availability of raw materials for producing export products. Proper utilization of e-commerce. Provide support to each and every exporters.

Priority sectors : :

Priority sectors : Agro-products Light engineering products Foot wear and leather products Pharmaceutical products Software and ICT products Home textile

Facilities to be provided in those sectors : :

Facilities to be provided in those sectors : Giving loan in a low interest Income tax Exemptions Ensuring financial benefits for electricity, water and gas Reduced air travel fares Bond facilities Assistance in foreign market search Adopting relevant steps to attract foreign investments.

Special priority sectors : :

Special priority sectors : Finished leather production Frozen fish processing Handicraft Products Fresh flower Electronic products Uncut diamonds Herbal medicine

Facilities to be provided in those sectors : :

Facilities to be provided in those sectors : Minimized air fare Project loans with general interest rates Bond facilities Tax Exemptions Enlarging technical facilities Ensuring financial help Give proper suggestions in foreign market research

Summary of general export facilities : :

Summary of general export facilities : Use of foreign exchange earned from export promotion fund Other financial Facilities Export loan Bond facilities Research and development .

List of the export prohibited products : :

List of the export prohibited products : Petroleum Jute Radioactive materials wheat Human body related products All types of frogs Raw and wet blue leather

Import Policy :

Definitions. -– In this order, unless there is anything repugnant to the subject or context---

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‘Entre-port Trade’ means such trade in case of which imported goods could be exported to a third country at a price minimum 5% higher without changing quality, quantity or shape and without allowing the said goods to be brought out side the port area but can be carried, with the permission of the Ministry of Commerce, from one port to another port for the purpose of exports.

“Act” means, The Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1950 (Act,XXXIX of 1950) ;

“Importer” means the ‘Importer’ as defined in article 2(f) of Importers, Exporters and Indentors (Registration) Order,1981;

“Import Control Authority” means the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports and includes any other authorized officer to issue licenses, permits or registration certificates as per the relevant provisions of the Act and rules & orders issued under this Act.;

“Basis of Imports” means percentage, rate or formula adopted for determining the share of a registered importer;

“Import value” means CFR value of imported goods for entre port trade or re- export ;

“Indentor” means an indentor as defined in article 2(g) of the Importers, Exporters and Indentors (Registration) Order,1981;

H.S. Code Number means the H.S. Code comprising eight or more digits pertaining to classification of commodities;

“L/C” or Letter of Credit means letter of credit opened for the purpose of import under this Order;

“L/C Authorization Form (LCA)” means the form prescribed for authorization of opening of L/C;

“Clearing and Forwarding Agent (C&F Agent)” or “Freight Forwarder (FF)” means a person or an organization acting as C&F agent or as F.F.Provided that such person or organization must possess TIN and all activities of the mentioned organization must be computerized. ”Food Products” means food products fit for human consumption directly or after processing. “Registered Importer” means an importer registered under the Importers, Exporters and indentors (Registration) Order, 1981;

”Permit” means an authorization for Import and Export, and includes import permit, clearance permit, import permit on returnable basis, export permit or export-cum-import permit as the case may be issued by Import Control Authority.

The “Sponsor" means Board of Investment (BOI) or Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) or Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) or BSCIC or Bangladesh Handloom Board in case of handloom industries run by Weaver’s Association;

“Re-export” means export of any imported item within specific period with at least 10% value addition to the import value after reprocessing the said imported item locally by changing either its quality or shape or both;

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“Actual user” means a person, group of persons, institution, body or organization, other than registered importers, who may import a permissible item (not being an industrial raw material requiring further processing before being used or consumed) in limited quantity for his or its own use or consumption and not for sale or transfer;

“Chief Controller” shall have the same meaning as given in section 2(a) of the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1950.;

“Expatriate Bangladeshi” means foreign exchange earning Bangladeshi citizens working/living abroad;

“Commercial importer” means an importer registered under the Importers, Exporters and Indentors (Registration) Order,1981 who imports goods for sale without re-processing ;

“Fish or Livestock or Bird’s feed” means feeds which are directly imported as feed or used as Fish or Livestock or Bird after processing;

“Importer for lease financing” means an importer registered, as special case, under the Importers, Exporters and Indentors (Registration) Order, 1981 approved by the Government for provision of lease financing to the industrial, energy, mining, agricultural, construction, transport and professional service sector;

“Industrial consumer” means industrial unit registered as an Industrial importer under the Importers, Exporters and Indentors (Registration) Order, 1981 which is 100% Bangladeshi industrial unit and a foreign investor registered with relevant sponsoring authority ;

“Public sector importer” means importers being government organizations or institutes, statutory bodies, corporations and public universities; and

“Plant and Plant product” means plant species or products originates from plant or live and dead portion of plant with seeds, reproductive of plant source, Germplasm, processed or unprocessed source of plant which for their characteristics or for the process able to carry, transmit and spread diseases and packing materials and cotton.

General provisions relating to import ::

General provisions relating to import : H.S code number PSI Country Of origin Name, address and TIN number of importer Import at competitive rate

Special provision relating to food and beverage import ::

Special provision relating to food and beverage import : The date of manufacture The date of expiry Milk food Import of non-fat dried milk

Import procedure : :

Import procedure : Import license not required Import against LCA form Import through L/C Import against LCA form but without opening letter of credit The limit for opening L/C.

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MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGS)

Introduction

In September 2000, 189 countries attending the UN Millennium Summit, signed the UN Millennium Declaration, a manifesto to eradicate extreme poverty, hunger and disease among the one billion people in the world who subsist on barely anything (UN, 2000). The project set a deadline of 2015 to achieve eight goals, called Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Table 1 lists these eight goals and eighteen targets that are bold commitments to uplift the world’s poorest people.

Table 1: Millennium Development Goals

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a dayHalve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger

2. Achieve universal primary education

Ensure that by 2015 children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling

3. Promote gender equality and empower women

Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and to all levels of education no later than 2015

4. Reduce child mortality Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under- five mortality rate

5. Improve maternal health Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread ofHIV/AIDS Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases

7. Ensure environmental sustainability

Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs and reverse the loss of environmental resources Halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers. By 2020 to have achieved a significant improvement in 8. Develop a global partnership

for development Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system. Includes a commitment to good governance, development, and poverty reduction – both nationally and internationally Address the special needs of the least developed countries. This includes: tariff- and quota-free access for least developed countries’

The first seven goals are to be pursued by the developing countries for sharp cuts in poverty, disease, and environmental degradation, while the eighth goal is essentially a commitment of global partnership, a compact of rich and poor countries, to work together to achieve the first seven goals. It calls for actions by developing countries to adopt sound economic policies and further develop an open trading and financial system, including commitments to good governance,

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development and poverty reduction. It also calls upon the developed countries to extend necessary assistance to developing countries for achieving these goals.

The MDGs are a set of numerical and time-bound targets to be achieved by 2015, taking 1990 as the base year. For example, the targets are to reduce the proportion of extremely poor people to half by 2015, and also hunger by the same proportion; achieve universal primary education and gender equality; reduce child mortality by two-thirds and maternal mortality by three quarters; reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases; and halve the proportion of people without access to safe water.

Five years after the project was launched, that is to say, a full third of the way into the2015 deadline, it is worthwhile to assess the achievements made by Bangladesh to reach the goals. In fact, the achievement of the social goals under the MDGs is now at the centre of public policy in Bangladesh as in most other developing countries. In section II, each of the eight different goals is discussed separately. It will be seen that while Bangladesh has achieved considerable success in certain areas like expansion of health and education facilities, and income earning opportunities for women, sustained efforts will be needed to consolidate these gains and achieve MDGs in these and other areas by 2015. Some concluding observations appear in the third and final section.

II. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

2.1. MDG 1: Eradicating Poverty and Hunger

Bangladesh has made reasonably good progress in its effort at reducing poverty. The decline in poverty was more rapid in the 1990s than during earlier decades. Poverty reduction in the first half of the current decade was also somewhat faster than in the

1990s. During the 9 years between 1991-92 and 2000, the poverty head-count ratio in Bangladesh fell by 9 percent - an annual rate of decline of one percentage point. Between 1999 and 2004, the poverty head-count ratio fell by 5.3 percent (from 46.2% to 40.9%), depicting an annual rate of decline of 1.06 percent (BBS, 2004).

However, the progress made in poverty reduction so far is not sufficient to achieve the objective of halving poverty by 2015. In 1990, poverty ratio in the country was 50%. The MDG target for Bangladesh is to bring it down to 25% in 2015. This requires poverty to decline at the annual rate of 1.41% from now up to 2015, whereas in the most recent five years poverty has fallen at the rate of just 1.06%. This ratio is, of course, better than in Pakistan, where poverty was largely stagnant during the last decade, but falls short of poverty reduction in India, where the poverty head-count ratio fell at an annual rate of 1.7 percent between 1993-94 and 1999-2000.

In any case, Bangladesh is definitely not on track to achieve the first MDG within target. While some success has been achieved, there are wide variations in the pace of poverty reduction across various regions of the country. In some regions, there was a large decline in poverty, whereas in quite a few others poverty actually rose (although not by very much). According to one report, at the current rate of poverty reduction Bangladesh will require some 135 years to eliminate poverty in rural areas and 43 years to achieve the major MDG targets. Similarly, Bangladesh may also seriously miss the target of halving the proportion of people that suffer from hunger.

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However, there is no reason to be outrageously pessimistic about the country’s ability to reduce poverty further. The reduction of poverty in the most recent times has been possible mainly because of a steady rate of economic growth. During the last decade, the economy grew consistently at around 5 percent a year. The growth rate reached a peak of 6.3% in 2002-03. For a sustained reduction of poverty, there is in fact no alternative to growth, which, therefore, is currently the government’s top priority.

Besides the general objective of achieving higher economic growth, the Government have adopted several intervention measures to reduce poverty, some of which go back to the 1970s (World Bank, 2005). These include, among others, Food-for-Work (FFW), Test Relief (TR), Food-for-Education (FFE), Gratuitous Relief (GR), Vulnerable Group Development (VGD), and Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) Programs. Alongside government interventions, many NGOs, such as the Grameen Bank, Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), and PROSHIKA, have played an important role in establishing micro-credit, skill development, and employment generation Programs in the country. Nearly 80% of the villages in Bangladesh are covered by NGO Programs or projects (World Bank, 2005). If the country can achieve and maintain strong economic growth and continued expansion of male and female schooling, and prevent income inequality from rising, the attainment of the poverty MDG appears plausible in Bangladesh. The recently finalized Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) has a pro-poor orientation and focuses on accelerated growth in rural areas, development of agriculture and non-farm economic activities, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), rural electrification, roads, water supply and sanitation, supportive infrastructure, including measures to reduce natural, and human-induced shocks – all of which will significantly contribute to reducing poverty.

2.2. MDG 2: Achieving Universal Primary Education

One of the main education-related MDGs is universal primary school enrollment. The goal is to ensure that the net primary enrollment rate rises to 100% by 2015, and that all the pupils entering grade 1 are retained until grade 5. Education is the prime mover of economic development and hence this sector has usually received topmost priority in the government’s expenditure Programs.

In order to ensure universal primary education, the Parliament enacted the Primary Education (Compulsory) Act 1990, and the compulsory primary education Program was started in 1993. This Program will continue as long as it is necessary to achieve the education-related MDG. Also, in order to ensure “education for all”, the government has introduced a Program called “Reaching Out-of-School Children”, to be implemented between July 2004 and June 2010.

Enrollment rates: During the last two decades, Bangladesh has made good progress in schooling. The gross primary enrollment rate increased from 61 percent in 1980 to 72 percent by 1990, and to 96 percent by 2000. The net primary enrollment is, however, much lower — in 2000, it was only, 65.4 percent. Gross enrollment rates tend to be higher than net rates because of the late entry of children (i.e., beyond age

6) into primary school and the resulting enrollment of overage children (i.e., those above age 10) at the primary level. The MDG target is to raise the net enrolment rate to 100 percent by 2015.

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Primary Completion: Apart from universal primary enrollment, retention of students in schools until grade 5 is another education-related MDG. School completion is an indicator — although imperfect – of the quality of school. A child is considered to have completed primary school if he/she has completed class 5. According to HIES data, the primary completion rate was 66.3 percent in 2000, which means that the primary school dropout rate was about 34 percent in that year. This compares quite favourably with India, where a primary completion rate of 61.4 percent (dropout rate 38.6 percent) was reported for approximately the same year (1999-2000) (World Bank, 2005). The objective for Bangladesh is to reduce the dropout rate from 34 percent in 2000 to zero in 2015. There are large variations in both net primary enrollment rate and primary completion rate across regions. For instance, net primary enrollment rates in the rural areas of some districts such as Faridpur, Tangail and Jamalpur are only 48 percent, whereas the rural areas of Khulna, Jessore and Kushtia have net primary enrolment rates of 74 percent. Variations in primary completion rate are also significant. Urban areas outside the Standard Metropolitan Area of Dhaka City have the highest primary completion rate (84 percent), while the lowest rate (52 percent) is observed in the rural areas of Noakhali and Chittagong.

It is also useful to have an idea about the absolute population of out-of-school children since this group would need to be targeted by schooling intervention. Survey data show that 4.7 million children out of a total population of 18.8 million in that age group do not attend school in the country. Nationally, three regions (out of a total of 14) account for nearly one-half, and six regions account for three quarters of all out- of-school children. Targeting schooling interventions to these regions would reduce the out-of-school child population considerably.

Several income assistance programs, one of which directly links its benefits to the school attendance of primary school-aged children (viz., Food-for-Education program), have been in operation in the country for a number of years. Some of the programs such as FFE, VGD and VGF, have reportedly helped increase net primary enrollment rates, but there is no such evidence with respect to the primary completion rate (World Bank, 2005).

What is, however, more important than increasing school enrolment or decreasing dropouts is to improve the quality of education. It is in this regard that Bangladesh is at a distinct disadvantage. Poor governance is pervasive in the country’s education sector. School management committee is rife with politics. Teacher recruitment is often subject to political influence. Teacher absenteeism is rampant, with teachers placing much greater emphasis on private tutoring than teaching at schools. Scandals over textbook production, procurement and distribution are widely reported (World Bank, 2005). Corruption in procurement has also resulted in poor quality of school construction. These types of governance problems contribute to the poor quality of education in Bangladesh. NGOs in Bangladesh play an important role in promoting basic formal and non- formal primary education in the country. The largest single non-government primary education program is the BRAC Non-formal Primary Education Program, which caters to older children who never attended school and takes them from grade 1 to 3. This program has more than 30,000 schools with about a million pupils.

There is a great deal of scope for raising both the net primary enrollment rate and the primary completion rate in Bangladesh with a package of interventions that include economic growth, expansion of adult male and female schooling, improved roads and transport, and greater coverage

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by government Programs, such as the Primary Education Stipends Program. However, achievements in these rates are still likely to fall short of the levels called for by the education MDG.

2.3. MDG 3: Achieving Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women

Gender equality and women empowerment are a core MDG. It is a development objective in its own right, and its achievement is essential for attaining the goal of poverty reduction.

The global target of education-related MDG is to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005 and in all levels of education by 2015. Bangladesh has made tremendous progress in achieving the first target of removing gender disparity in schooling. The female-male ratio of students in primary schools has steadily increased from about 45:55 in 1990 to 50:50 in 2002. At the secondary level, more girls are now enrolled than boys, thanks to the female secondary stipend Program. Female-male ratio in secondary schools was 53:47 in 2000 (GOB, 2005). The goal of eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education can thus be said to have been already achieved.

Considerable gender disparity, however, remains in tertiary education. The current female-male ratio of 20-24 year old literates is 55:71. The MDG target is to raise it to 100:100 by 2015. The recent growth in Universities and institutes of higher learning in the country has brightened the prospect of achieving the targeted gender parity in tertiary education by 2015.

Significant gender inequality is visible in other areas, too. Thus, the presence of women is negligible in the Parliament, in the judiciary and in the top administrative jobs of the country. There are also disparities in employment opportunities and wages. Female wage is 70 percent of male wage in the agriculture sector and 42 percent in non-agricultural sectors. The proportion of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sectors is also very low – only 22 percent of the total.

Government policy is to remove gender gaps from the country’s social and economic life and bring about greater women empowerment (GOB, 2005). To that end, different Programs have been adopted at government and non-government levels. The Programs include:

— Improvement of food security among poor women

— Establishment of Women’s Training Academy

— Day Care Programs for children of working women

— Building hostels for working women

— Women’s agricultural training institute; women’s handicraft and agriculture training centre; safe housing project for women and adolescent female

— Day Care Centre for children of working women in district towns, and safe housing and vocational training centres for destitute female children

— Advocacy to end gender-based violence through the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs.

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While the country has made considerable progress in bringing about greater women’s empowerment and reducing gender gaps, there are still several areas of concern, which need to be addressed for making further progress towards gender equality.

First, violence against women, which has escalated in recent years, is the most crucial barrier to women’s advancement in the country. Its elimination needs to be taken up on a priority basis. The Bangladesh National Strategy for Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction recommended several actions to address this concern (GOB, 2005). These include steps to (i) ensure fast track trial procedures for victims of violence against women, (ii) provide security for witnesses, (iii) allocate sufficient funds, and human and other resources for restoration of security for women, (iv) introduce effective one-stop help centres for victims of violence with sufficient human resources and funds, and (v) provide special transportation system for women workers in garment factories who work at night shifts.

Secondly, while the gender gap is closing in Bangladesh for most social indicators, the overall level of empowerment measured in terms of literacy, work force participation, property rights, and credit access leaves much to be desired. A related institutional issue is to increase the political voice of women, especially poor women, which will contribute to faster progress in the well-being of children and women. Major actions required in this respect are: an increase in the reserved seats for women in the parliament; actions to make women’s participation in local government and parliament meaningful; requiring all parliamentary standing committees to hold public meetings on women’s issues; appointing women MPs as chairpersons of various parliamentary standing committees; allowing local women leaders to undertake responsible positions in decision making; and ensuring that the local governments consult with local women’s organizations and women leaders in making decisions on important issues.

2.4 MDG 4: Reducing Child Mortality

Child mortality not only represents an enormous waste of human resources, it is also a major cause of suffering in the population. The MDG for Bangladesh is to reduce the under-five mortality rate from about 94 per thousand live births in 1990 to 32 by 2015.

Bangladesh has made significant progress in reducing the child mortality rate although it is far below the related MDG target. The child mortality per thousand live births came down from 94 in 1990 to 56 in 2005. As expected, the decline in child mortality has been faster in urban than in rural areas (GOB, 2005).

One of the factors explaining the rapid decline in infant mortality in Bangladesh has been a very successful family planning Program. The other is the tremendous progress in expanding child immunization coverage over the past two decades. Indeed, Bangladesh experience shows that it is possible to bring about fertility and mortality decline in poor countries even in the absence of strong economic growth and improved socio-economic conditions (UNDP, 2005).

Poor governance in the overall public health sector is, however, a big problem in Bangladesh. There is widespread absenteeism of doctors and paramedics at government health centres; most government health facilities are in a state of disrepair; and the availability of

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drugs and medical supplies is very limited. In contrast, the NGOs in Bangladesh have played a prominent role in the delivery of quality health services.

Child malnutrition is an important contributing factor to infant and child mortality. In Bangladesh, child malnutrition rates are very high. Recent surveys indicate that nearly one-half of children below the age of 5 or 6 years are moderately underweight or stunted, and 10-18% of children are severely underweight or stunted.

However, Bangladesh has made impressive progress in reducing child underweight rates during the last 15 years. The Government has had several nutritional intervention Programs going back to the 1970s. These include among others, FFW, TR, FFE, GR and VGD.

Yet, Bangladesh is still quite far from achieving the child mortality-related MDG and will need to strive very hard to achieve that goal. However, with the right type of interventions for achieving strong economic growth, expansion of female schooling, family planning programs that motivate women to delay child bearing, expanded child immunization coverage, and prevention of child malnutrition, the child mortality- related MDG should not be very difficult to achieve.

2.5 MDG 5: Improving Maternal Health

Improving maternal health is an important MDG. In 1990, maternal mortality rate (MMR) in Bangladesh was 570 per 100,000 live births (Chowdhury, 2006). The MDG objective for Bangladesh is to reduce it by 75 percent, i.e., to 143 by 2015. However, the progress made in reducing MMR, even though significant, is not sufficient to bring it down to the target level in 2015. MMR came down from 570 in1990 to 450 in 1995 and then to 320 in 2005 (Chowdhury, 2006). A lot more will therefore be needed to achieve the MDG target. The government, however, appears very optimistic as the PRSP prepared recently by the Government aims to bring the MMR down to 147 by 2015.

Reproductive health care continues to remain a major weakness of the health care system in Bangladesh. Moreover, significant socio-economic differentials persist in maternal health care. According to the Bangladesh Maternal Mortality Survey 2001, 69 percent of the households belonging to the lowest wealth quintile do not avail anyantinatal care compared with 22 percent in the richest quintile.

Maternal malnutrition, as proxied by body mass index (BMI) less than the critical value of 18.5, turns out to be very high in Bangladesh. On the basis of this criterion, HDS estimates the proportion of malnourished mothers at 45 percent in 1999/00, showing some improvement over 52 percent estimated for 1996/97. During this period, the rural-urban gap in maternal malnutrition, as measured by BMI, has increased from 50 to 63 percent.

The high rate of malnourished mothers in the poor households has adverse implications for poverty reduction. A high priority, therefore, needs to be given to reducing maternal malnutrition in the country, with special emphasis given to mothers from the poor households due to existing high degree of inequality in maternal nutrition.

In short, Bangladesh needs to make radical efforts to bring down the maternal mortality rate to the target level in 2015. This will call for the implementation of a sector-wide approach to

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health care with special focus on the improvement of reproductive health, especially for the poor and the most vulnerable. A significant reduction in maternal mortality would require a comprehensive intervention package involving improvement in maternal nutrition and antinatal care, expansion of institutional delivery, increased supply of skilled birth attendants, dissemination of health education, development of local level capability for providing emergency obstetric care, and sustaining further reduction in the fertility rate.

2.6. MDG 6: Combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other Diseases

Health is a fundamental right of the people, recognized in the constitution. The Government of Bangladesh therefore considers health as a high priority sector. It is also committed to achieving the MDG of combating HIV/AIDS and other killer diseases.

The morbidity rate is relatively high in Bangladesh. According to the Health and Demographic Survey (HDS) of 2000 conducted by the BBS, 188 persons per thousand are diseased in Bangladesh. The morbidity rate is higher among females than the males and among the poor than the non-poor. Besides, the poor may be affected by many other diseases that are not covered by the current essential service package (ESP). However, in the last few decades, the incidence of diseases like diarrhoea, malaria, tuberculosis, anaemia, elephantiasis, goitre, black fever, whooping cough, polio and diphtheria has come down. On the other hand, some non- communicable diseases such as, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental illness, and cancer have increased. Also, dengue fever and arsenic contamination have created a serious public health problem.

HIV/AIDS is classified as the deadliest epidemic of our time. However, up to now, Bangladesh is fortunate to be a low-prevalent country. In the total population of 137 million, the reported cases of HIV/AIDS is very low (363 reported cases as of December 2003). However, according to WHO/UNAIDS report, an estimated 2500-15000 HIV-infected people were there in Bangladesh at the end of 2003. The prevention of the spread of HIV/AIDS has thus become a great challenge for Bangladesh.

A package of essential health service interventions catered to the needs of the poor would have a strong poverty-reducing effect, as the improvements in health would translate into higher quality of children, lower income erosion due to health shocks, higher productivity, and higher economic growth. For this reason, implementation and access of current ESP need to be ensured with special focus on the health needs of the poorest and the most vulnerable, both in rural and urban areas. Even though the priority focus is currently on communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are also of great significance. Many of these NCDs mentioned above can be effectively addressed by relatively low-cost interventions, especially using preventive actions relating to diet, smoking, and lifestyle. The coverage of current ESP, therefore, needs to be broadened to include some of the key NCDs as well.

It should be noted, however, that the attainment of the health-MDG has considerable resource implications. According to the estimate by the WHO Commission on Macroeconomics and Health (CMH) 2001, the set of essential interventions costs, on average, $34 per person per year, which is much higher than the current level of public spending of around $5 recorded for Bangladesh (CMH, 2001). The huge resource gap in financing the health needs of the poor cannot be met without mobilizing additional resources from external sources. The plea for higher resource

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allocation for the health sector should, therefore, accompany strong commitments by the richer nations to extend generous aid to the poor countries. NGOs may also emerge as an important actor in this regard by delivering high-quality health care services, especially at primary and secondary levels.

2.7. MDG 7: Environmental Sustainability

Environment-related problems in Bangladesh are getting more acute day by day, mainly because of various natural disasters, including droughts and floods. The more visible environmental problems are mostly associated with regenerative resources, which are in danger of exhaustion from excessive use. These include not only animal, bird, plant and fish populations, but also land, water and air. As little as 6 percent of the country’s land area is covered by forests. Reckless application of chemical inputs in agriculture, unplanned use of land, reduction in forest areas because of extensive agriculture and housing construction, and disposal of industrial wastes are destroying the effective quality of land resources. Unplanned land use and intrusion of saline water are leading to the erosion of soil in the coastal areas. Surface water is being continuously polluted by disposal of untreated industrial effluents and wastewater of municipal areas, use of chemical fertilizers and insecticides, leakage of oil from sea and river transports, as well as seeping oil from ship-breaking activities in river ports and coastal areas.

Bangladesh has 57 rivers, which flow from across the country’s international borders. Fifty-four of these rivers originate in India and three in Myanmar. Lifting of water for irrigation or other uses upstream in the other side of the border has reduced the flow of water in Bangladesh. India’s Farakka barrage is a case in point, which has created drought conditions in wide areas of Bangladesh. Besides, the proposed river-linking project by India, if implemented, will seriously reduce the annual water flow, causing immense harm to the country’s economy, society, and the environment.

Among the many man-made environmental problems around the world, air pollution is perhaps the most serious. The source of air pollution in Bangladesh is mainly the emission of smoke from motorized vehicles and industrial plants. Air pollution is also caused by the burning of coal and wood by brick kilns, which emits sulphur dioxide.

Development activities in various sectors are destroying land, forestry, marine habitat, and bio-diversity. Shrimp cultivation in the past decade has created new problems in the fisheries sector. Global warming may lead to a rise in temperature and humidity in Bangladesh. Climate change may lead to swelling of water in the Bay of Bengal, as a result of which 10 to 20 percent of the country’s landscape, including the Sunderbans, may be permanently submerged under water, and salinity may penetrate into the rivers.

Bangladesh has limited capabilities, technology or resources to face any large environmental disaster. However, even though the UN Millennium Declaration does not explicitly specify any goal, the Government of Bangladesh has adopted several measures to improve and protect the environment. These relate to the formulation of a land use policy, a national water management plan, policies for controlling air, water and noise pollution, and an integrated coastal zone management plan. Bangladesh is also a signatory to the Rio Convention on Bio-diversity (1992), and the Kyoto Protocol that came into effect from 17 February 2005. It has also enacted

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legislations, such as Environmental Protection Act, 1995, Wild Life Protection (Amendment) Act 1974, and Environmental Court Act 2000.

Halving the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation is an important environment-related MDG. In Bangladesh, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to improved sanitation in 1990 was 77 percent. The MDG target is to bring it down to 38.5 percent by 2015.

Sanitation coverage in the country in recent years has increased at an annual rate of about 2 percent, rising from 23 percent in 1990 to 48 percent in 2002. At the present rate of increase, therefore, the MDG target may be reached sooner than the 2015 deadline, perhaps by 2008.

The proportion of the population without access to safe drinking water in Bangladesh was 29 percent in 1990. The MDG target is to bring it down to 14.5 percent by 2015. In other words, the target is to raise the coverage of safe drinking water from 71 percent in 1990 to 85.5 percent in 2015.

The Government of Bangladesh, however, wants to increase the coverage of safe water to 100 percent in urban areas and to 96.5 percent in rural areas by 2015. As of now (2005), about 75 percent of the people in Bangladesh have access to safe drinking water, but the achievement is less than in other South Asian countries. What is most worrisome is that more than 30 million people, or more than a fifth of the country’s total population, are to drink highly arsenic-contaminated water. Also, there is a shortage in the supply of safe water in coastal areas. Given the huge amount of resources needed to overcome this problem, it is difficult to see how Bangladesh will meet the water-related MDG by 2015.

There is now the need for developing the water bodies and reducing wastages of water to meet the goal of safe water and sanitation. The government have, of course, taken significant initiatives to achieve the target for total sanitation and water supply. These include social mobilization campaign, allocation of 20% of the Ministry’s budget to sanitation, nationwide baseline sanitation survey, and a sanitation strategy. It has also developed the National Policy for Arsenic Mitigation and Implementation Plan for Arsenic Mitigation in Bangladesh. These initiatives and policies are in the right direction, and hopefully there will be no lack of commitment on the part of the government to implement these policies.

2.8. MDG 8: Developing a Global Partnership for Development

Developing countries are very keen to achieve the self-imposed MDGs, and to that end, they have adopted poverty reduction strategies (PRS), whether on their own initiative or dictated by the donor community. These strategies include policy reforms, institutional strengthening, and measures to raise investments. At the centre of these strategies is economic growth, which has a direct effect on poverty and is thus essential for achieving the millennium development goals.

For most of these countries, however, their efforts, for example, toward a major expansion of education and healthcare services and development of infrastructure are constrained by a paucity of resources. While the non-economic constraints to economic growth, viz., poor governance, corruption, and law and order uncertainties, should be resolved by their own effort and initiative, the resource constraint can be met only by significant inflows of external resources on the one hand,

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and improved market access for their exports to developed country markets on the other. It is in this respect that the eighth MDG is so important. The UN Millennium Project requires that while the developing countries will keep their own houses in order by appropriate domestic reforms to improve governance at all levels – economic, political, and institutional – the rich nations will be required to extend generous economic aid and open up their markets, which will enable developing countries raise their economic growth and reduce poverty.

As for aid, the Pearson Commission recommended in 1969 that the developed countries contribute 0.7 percent of their GNP as official development assistance (ODA) to developing countries. This was endorsed by a special UN General Assembly resolution in 1974, which was reiterated in every international conference held since then and accepted by the developed countries. The 0.7 percent commitment was reiterated at the Rio Summit on Sustainable Development in 1992, which adopted the Agenda 21. A decade later, at Monterrey, Mexico, the Monterrey Consensus was adopted by the United States and other participating countries, urging “all developed countries that have not done so to make concrete efforts toward the goal of 0.7 percent of gross national product as official development assistance”. Then, a few months after Monterrey, the rich countries made the same pledge at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), 2002, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

However, after the first five years of the Millennium Project, it transpires that the level of aid given by the OECD countries per year reached only 0.22 percent of their combined GNP. The figures available up to December 2004 show that the percentage of U.S. income going to poor countries remained near rock bottom: just 0.14 percent. Britain was about halfway to the goal, at 0.34 percent, and France was at 0.41 percent. Only Norway and Sweden had already exceeded the goal, at 0.92 percent and 0.75 percent, respectively (International Herald Triune, 2004).

As of 2002, aid equaled $53 billion, just 0.2 percent of the rich-world GNP. If the rich countries met the 0.7 percent target, aid would reach $175 billion per year. For the United States, foreign aid would rise from around $15 billion per year in 2004 (0.14 percent of US GNP) to around $75 billion (0.7 percent of US GNP) (Sachs, 2005).

The United States is the world’s richest nation. Washington says that it contributes more money to foreign aid than any other country. But no one is impressed when a billionaire writes a $50 cheque for a needy family (IHT, 2004). The test is the percentage of national income that a country gives to the poor, and on that basis the United States is the stingiest in the G-7 industrialized nations. It is ironic that the United States, which gave 2 percent of its national income under the Marshall Aid Program to rebuild Europe after World War II, and currently spends $450 billion annually on the military, does not find more than $15 billion – the overall U.S spending on development assistance in 2002 – on development aid for poor countries (Sachs, 2005).

In 2002, President Bush announced the Millennium Challenge Account, which was supposed to increase U.S assistance to poor countries that are committed to policies promoting development. President Bush said his government would donate $1.7 billion in the first year, $3.3 billion in the second, and $5.0 billion in the third. That $5 billion would have been just 0.04 percent of U.S. national income, but the Administration still failed to match its promise with action (International Herald Tribune, 2004). The truth is that the U.S. Administration did not even ask Congress for the full $1.7 billion in the first year; it asked for $1.3 billion, which Congress cut to $1

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billion. The next year, the Administration asked for $2.5 billion and got $1.5 billion. Worst of all, the Account has yet to disburse a single dollar, while every year in Africa, one in 16 pregnant women still die in childbirth, 2.2 million die of AIDS, and 2 million children die from malaria (IHT, 2004).

The UN Millennium Project, directed by economist Jeffrey Sachs, estimated that developing countries would need some $135 billion in ODA in 2006 - $94 billion to finance MDGs, $4 billion as emergency and distress relief, and the balance $36 billion to meet operating expenses of donor agencies and other ODA that does not contribute directly to the MDGs (i.e., non-MDG investments). It has been estimated that the required total ODA would rise to $152 billion in 2010 and to $195 billion in2015. The total projected ODA for 2006, 2010 and 2015 would be, respectively, equivalent to 0.44 percent, 0.46 percent and 0.54 percent of the OECD countries’ estimated gross national incomes. These sums are substantially below the UN target of 0.7 percent, which would be close to an average of $235 billion per year (in constant 2003 dollars). It is therefore pretty evident that the MDGs can be financed within the bounds of the ODA that the donors have already promised, if they really have the will to do so.

In 2004, the estimated ODA was just $60 billion so that another $75 billion would be needed per year to make up the projected $135 billion in 2006. However, indications are that in reality ODA in 2006 may be only slightly higher than in 2004.

As regards trade, too, developing countries’ exports are continuously being denied market access to the developed country markets through high tariff and non-tariff barriers as well as heavy agricultural subsidies in their own countries. The just concluded WTO Sixth Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong (13-18 December 2005) has been more a compromise among and between the developed countries and a handful of relatively advanced developing countries than to bring any worthwhile benefits to low-income ones that need the global trade support the most.

The low-income developing countries are thus greatly disadvantaged, relating to their export prospects on the one hand and limited ODA on the other. What these countries need to achieve the MDG targets are: a big increase in aid from rich countries, a massive write-off of the debts of the poorest of countries, and significant trade liberalization for their exports, which are now treated harshly by the developed countries like the U.S., E.U., and Japan.

For aid to be effective, debts of the HIPC should be totally written off. In fact, rich countries should have given the poorest countries grants rather than aid, in which case

the poor countries would never have been indebted in the first place. Secondly, development partners – UN agencies, bilateral donors, and Bretton Woods institutions

– should coordinate their aid efforts in support of a single MDG-based poverty reduction strategy. The task of aid coordination can be best done by the United Nations. The UN agencies are specialized institutions and have vitally important expertise in every aspect of development. For example, the FAO is unrivaled in agriculture. IFAD finances agricultural development projects to increase food production and improve malnutrition. The UNDP is unequaled in the fight against poverty, in capacity building, and in the area of governance. UNFPA is unrivaled in family planning and reproductive health care. The WHO has the unique capacity in

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public health and disease control. And so on. On the other hand, the World Bank and the IMF are generalist institutions – the IMF for macroeconomic (budget, financial, exchange rate) issues, and the World Bank for development issues. Without a much closer partnership of the specialized UN agencies with the IMF and the World Bank, none of these institutions can do their work properly (Sachs, 2005).

III. Concluding Observations

Bangladesh seems to be on track to achieve some of the UN millennium development goals such as universal primary school enrollment and gender parity. A recent UNDP report says that Bangladesh could be a role model for UNDP by showing that sustained improvement in human development is possible even in poor countries at relatively modest levels of income growth (UNDP, 2005).

Independent assessment, however, casts doubt about the prospect of achieving the MDGs in their totality in the country. At least two impediments are obvious. One is the country’s institutional inability to effectively implement policies and Programs, given the abysmal record of poor governance in terms of inefficiency and corruption, lack of transparency and accountability, and, above all, poor law and order conditions. The other constraint is that of limited domestic resources that will fall far short of the requirement to implement Programrs to achieve the MDGs. Moreover, the country will need a lot more resources to achieve some non-MDG targets such as the development of infrastructure, improved management of power and ports, and achievement of a better investment climate, without which economic growth and consequently poverty alleviation efforts will suffer.

Regarding aid, the rich countries should fulfill their promised targets and improve the quality of aid by eliminating harsh conditionalities that destroy the effectiveness of aid. There are countless examples of aid with strings attached that insure that most of its benefits go to firms from the donor countries, or which has largely ended up in the offshore bank accounts of corrupt local politicians. And even in circumstances where aid has been shown to work – basic health, education and water supply projects – the sudden policy changes of donor countries have often undermined worthy efforts (Economist, 2004). Bangladesh encountered such problems all too often with donors, including multilateral lending agencies. International aid is in fact the most volatile element of developing-country budgets, which is one reason why some of the more hopeful-looking African countries are keener on debt relief than aid as the former is a one-off contribution to their resources that is not vulnerable to abrupt changes in donor-country policies.

Regarding trade, the rich nations should fulfill their commitment to the development agenda of the WTO’s Doha Development Round by removing the high trade barriers that are erected against the exports of developing countries. As it is well known, the world’s highest trade barriers are erected against some of the poorest countries. For instance, the effective U.S. import duty on exports of countries like Vietnam and Bangladesh is roughly ten times higher than the duty on exports from the European Union countries (UNDP, 2005).

Trade liberalization by rich countries can be a powerful catalyst for Bangladesh’s development. In fact, it can be more helpful than ODA for attaining the MDG targets. An Oxfam estimate shows that a 1 percent increase in Africa’s share of world exports would be worth five times as much as the

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continent’s share of aid and debt relief (Economist, 2004). Yet trade liberalization requires politicians in rich countries to confront vocal protectionist interests at home. It therefore remains to be seen what deal is struck at the WTO, when the ongoing Doha Round will conclude next year. It will be the truest test of whether the rich countries do have the will to help the poorer ones in their war against poverty. In the absence of adequate amount of aid and opportunities to expand exports to the developed countries, most of the MDGs floated by the United Nations will remain unfulfilled and poverty reduction targets of low- income countries like Bangladesh will remain elusive.