Foundations attached to different ministries will work under a five-cluster approach to support the government’s Five-Year Strategic Framework for Reform and Development, with job creation, renewable energy and social protection among the key priorities.
Adviser to the Prime Minister on the Ministries of Finance and Planning Dr Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir disclosed the plan on Saturday while briefing reporters after a meeting with the heads of 22 foundations at the NEC Conference Room.
He said the initiative was based on the philosophical principle set by the Prime Minister, “Bangladesh First”, which he described as “Bangladesh with everyone, Bangladesh for everyone”.
“If Bangladesh is to come first, then what is needed is everyone’s participation,” Titumir said.
He said the government had inherited “a fractured economy” and that the Prime Minister had approved a five-year economic strategy based on three phases: recovery, transition and restructuring for prosperity.
Titumir said the first decision at the meeting was to launch a nationwide “One Village, One Product” initiative through which the foundations would contribute to employment generation.
The second priority is electricity, with an emphasis on turning consumers into producers, particularly through renewable energy.
“Most people are now consumers of electricity. The question is how they can be turned from consumers into producers,” he said.
On health, the third area, Titumir said Bangladesh’s health system had suffered significant deterioration despite large budgetary allocations.
He said upazila-level health facilities had 20 beds during the time of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and were expanded to 50 beds during the tenure of the late Begum Khaleda Zia, with no further increase since then.
The government is now moving towards 150-bed upazila facilities, he said, noting that the disease burden has also shifted from communicable diseases to lifestyle-related illnesses.
The foundations could help train nurses and technicians for kidney dialysis and coronary care units, he added.
The fourth priority is a universal, full life-cycle social security programme under which every person with a disability would be registered as a rights-holder.
Alternative financing mechanisms were also discussed, with Titumir saying Zakat could play a significant role in the programme. A decision was taken on how Zakat could be coordinated with the social security framework, he said.
The fifth cluster is monitoring. The Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) will track the commitments and report on progress continuously, with data to be published through a dashboard.
“The government did not impose this responsibility on them. They mentioned it voluntarily,” Titumir said.
Responding to a question about how a single foundation could contribute towards the government’s target of creating 10 million jobs over five years, he said the government had presented a realistic election manifesto and had deliberately disclosed minimum figures.
“These are the presentations of the institutions themselves,” he said.
According to the Adviser, one foundation has committed to creating 10 million jobs, while another has pledged 100,000. Women’s organisations, a small farmers’ foundation and a rural poverty alleviation foundation have also submitted employment targets.
“That means the number is more than one crore,” he said.
On renewable energy, Titumir said the foundations had already committed to developing 2 GW of solar power against the government’s five-year target of 5 GW.
He said more than 300 pending net-metering applications had been settled and 200 MW of solar power had already been connected to the national grid in six months.
Explaining the financing of the Tk 2,000 crore budget allocation for renewable energy, he said funds would be channelled through the Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) and Bangladesh Infrastructure Finance Fund Limited (BIFFL).
Under the proposed financing structure, producers would contribute 20 percent, an aggregator such as a partner NGO of the Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) another 20 percent, while 60 percent would come as government lending.
“As a result, the interest rate will fall a long way, to the range of 6 to 7 percent,” he said.
Comparing power generation costs, Titumir said electricity generated from gas costs around Tk 4 to Tk 5 per unit, while LNG-based generation costs around Tk 64 per unit.
“If we look at one gigawatt, subsidies will fall,” he said, adding that the savings could be used for other purposes.
On attracting investment, he identified five key requirements: policy continuity through a five-year fixed tax structure, deregulation through a trace-and-track approval system, access to financing, energy security and seamless connectivity.
Titumir also said Bangladesh Bank had arranged Tk 20,000 crore to facilitate the reopening of closed factories.
Agreements have already been signed with 40 banks, and disbursement is expected to begin in September, with the Finance Division covering the interest differential, he said.
The government is targeting a revenue-to-GDP ratio of 10 percent by 2030 and 15 percent by 2035, Titumir said.
“We have no targets that are not achievable,” he said, adding that the government’s trillion-dollar economic projection is consistent with estimates by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).