Social safety net programmes are considered an effective mechanism to bridge the income gap and build an inclusive society, but successive governments have given little policy attention to the issue. A recent International Labour Organisation report shows that 91.3 per cent of people in Bangladesh lack any form of social protection. The report also observes that a strong social protection system is more important for Bangladesh given its climate vulnerability, especially when it is ranked 10th on the World Risk Index and faces severe impact from both rapid and slow-onset disasters. In July, a World Bank report said that social protection expenditure in Bangladesh was the lowest in South Asia. It spends 2 per cent of its gross domestic product on social protection, which includes social assistance, public services pensions and explicit energy subsidy. In 2022, the South Asian Network on Economic Modelling reported that 35 per cent of Bangladesh鈥檚 population was covered through some 100 large and small schemes, but the average transfer amount to beneficiaries was Tk 595 and termed the amount unrealistic considering the poverty situation.
The government that has assumed office with the support of students and citizens committed to building a socio-economically inclusive society should revisit the social safety net programmes and policies. Social safety programmes are neither efficient nor equitable. If pensions for civil servants and other forms of social assistance are excluded, the amount being received by vulnerable people is reported to account for 1.5鈥�1.7 per cent of gross domestic product. Spending on public sector pensions represents a sizeable portion of the budget allocation, but it serves a small and better-off section of the work force. Inadequate budgetary allocation and policy attention to the social protection, therefore, show the government鈥檚 policy bias towards the rich. There are programmes dedicated to the people directly affected by climate change in the coastal region, but because of alleged corruption, benefits did always not reach the rightful beneficiaries. Considering the weaknesses of the social security measures, the deposed Awami League government adopted the National Social Security Strategy in 2015. The strategy recognised differences in risks in different stages of the life cycle and included provisions to increase the average value of financial assistance and lower the risks faced by the poor and the vulnerable. However, the strategy has remained on paper and no significant steps were taken to bridge the policy-implementation gap.
The interim government, as it prepares to undertake major reforms, especially in economic development policy, should take steps to implement the national social security strategy. It should immediately expand the reach of the social protection schemes to include the most vulnerable people and allocate adequate financial resources to bridge the gap between people鈥檚 needs and budget allocation. It is, however, not enough to increase financial resources without addressing the policy bias and widespread corruption in implementation.