'Electricity access wipes out poverty,' Planning Minister MA Mannan says
The speakers also urged to consider recommendations that will be supportive for effective implementation of the 8th five-year plan
Planning Minister MA Mannan has said that electricity supply will contribute immensely in poverty alleviation in the country by improving the livelihood of rural people.
He made this statement on Tuesday while speaking as the chief guest at the workshop titled "Learning and Closing workshop of the Civic Engagement Alliance (CEA) Programme" organised by ICCO Cooperation, said a press release.
"The government has been able to curtail the country's poverty rate through providing uninterrupted electricity across the country," said the planning minister.
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"Electricity is the most effective tool for reducing the poverty rate because hardworking labourers of the rural areas will be able to work till night," he added.
Planning Minister MA Mannan said that electricity has reached many rural people's door steps and is facilitating them to increasing poor rural people's ability to generate income. With the visionary and dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, cent percent grid areas of the country will come under electricity coverage this year, said the planning minister.
"In the path of power development, we'd to carry even 1 km electricity cable to provide electricity to fishermen's home so that their children can study at night," he added.
The speakers also urged to consider recommendations that will be supportive for effective implementation of the 8th five-year plan.
Effective civil society can act as a watchdog to ensure transparency, accountability and efficiency of the development intervention, speakers remarked, read the press release.
Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) Chairman Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, Team Leader – Food & Nutrition Security and Sustainable Development Koen Everaert, Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD)Towfiqul Islam Khan, and Senior Food Security Advisor, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Osman Haruni, were presented as the special guests.
Head of Programs, ICCO Cooperation Abul Kalam Azad chaired the session.
The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the ICCO Consortium are involved in a strategic and global partnership – Civic Engagement Alliance (CEA) which was implemented from 2016 – 2020 in association with Nijera Kori, Civil Society Alliance for Scaling up Nutrition (CSA- SUN), and Right to Food Network, Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, The Leprosy Mission International Bangladesh (TLMIB).
