Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, chief of the white paper committee on Bangladesh’s economy, on Monday said non-government organizations wanted recognition of their contributions to the development of the country.
NGO representatives sought the recognition at a meeting with the white paper committee at NEC Bhaban of the Planning Commission in Dhaka. Some 80 representatives from local and international development organizations participated in the meeting.
“They (NGOs representatives) think this issue of recognition of the non-government organizations to development needs to be considered with importance,” said Dr Bhattacharya at a press briefing after the meeting.
Raising the views of the NGO representatives, he said though the non-government development organizations have a significant role in the government’s previous and present initiatives, they have no proper representation locally or nationally in the initiatives.
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Since people are faced with high inflation and other challenges, they think that government support and policy coordination are required to strengthen the role of non-government development partners to address the problems, he added.
NGOs want removal of institutional barriers, corruption
NGO representatives are of the view that various institutional barriers and corruption in the government institutions are among the biggest obstacles to properly run the activities of the non-government development organizations, said Dr Debapriya, also a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).
The institutional barriers are intentional in many cases. And the government policies and regulations become barriers in some cases, he said.
They also mentioned specific names of the concerned institutions that oversee the non-government organizations, the names of the district administration and law enforcement agencies, he said.
The NGO leaders suggested ensuring proper government management and freeing the institutions from corruption, said the white paper committee chief.
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Replying to a question, he said the meeting discussed the corruption that takes place when a non-government development organization goes to get registration, renew its registration certificate and get projects approved by the institutions concerned.
More than one restrictive measure has been imposed recently against the non-government development organizations to limit their activities and role to raise voice in favor of the people, said Dr Debapriya, also the convenor of the Citizen's Platform for SDGs.
The meeting also discussed corruption in the digital disbursement of microcredits as well as health, education and other allowances, he said.
The interim government on August 28 formed a 12-member committee led by Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya to prepare a comprehensive ‘white paper’ on the state of Bangladesh's economy.