The 2004 World Development Report showed how basic services are failing poor people because service providers are not accountable to policymakers or to poor clients, and politicians are not accountable to poor citizens. We have since learned that services fail poor people in many more ways. In addition to being absent 40 percent of the time, Indian public sector doctors provide worse service than less-qualified private sector doctors.
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Mariam Claeson
Thu, 09/27/2007 - 07:23 Congratulations Shanta on this initiative of you touching a broader issue related to the region. The effort will help to bring out issues, ideas and solutions to informed people, administrators and various agencies. Currently the region is home a large poor population with ‘very low’ earning levels and living standards. Only with concerted efforts of people like you and agencies like the World Bank, solutions can be reached.
As these economies are growing and more and jobs are created in various sectors, there is a large trend of migration and transition happening from rural and semi-urban and urban population. At one end there is utter poverty while riche people becoming ultra richer and the divide is becoming larger and larger.
At one end the ability to pay for basic needs are not met (due to the cost escalation happening in food, clothing, education, health areas), governments are reducing their attention due to budgetary and other constraints. This gap can be only be bridged by people and institutions, who can come together to extend a helping hand. The efforts of informed people to reduce corruption in their society by standing up for their rights can reduce political and bureaucratic correction and delays. Due to unnecessary political issues, various developmental and infrastructural projects are held up in India. The people, who elect their representatives are becoming stumbling blocks for their own progress!!. Good governance standards and accountability indexes can help to measure the performance of an elected representative and should be the yardstick.
Here people like Shantayanan and media can do much. It was nice to see your post of Gujarat village life. May your guiding spirit could light more candles for betterment of many more lives.
Continue the Good work.
With best wishes
Tue, 09/25/2007 - 01:48
South Asia has rich natural resources and skilled & promising human potential. Most of the countries in the region are presently on the development path as compared to the past. Yet, the benefits of economic growth has not trickled down to the lower strata of the society.
Reforms in fiscal, infrastructure, health and other areas are being undertaken with colossal amount of funds provided by several multi-lateral and bilateral financial and developmental institutions. The reform programs are widely publicized but the impact of the reforms on the intended beneficiaries and value for money spent remain in the "black box". In effect with huge amount of money spent by the various donor agencies, the desired level of improvement and development have still remained at a distance.
Under this circumstance, it is important to recognize that widepread corruption in the political and bureacratic system in the region is seriously impeding efforts for alleviating poverty and causing considerable amount of funds to be misutilised. Hence, it is imperative to initiate reforms for purging out corruption from the political and bureacratic system. Yes, difficult to do, but not impossible if there appropriate conditions are put for the external financial assistance provided and are enforced.
Besides, monitoring of utilisation of funds with genuine field survey as opposed to 'so-called" review meeting in five-star hotel environment by the project managers of the funding agencies and publication of impact result for information of the general people of the country can bring about bottom up pressures that would facilitate political and bureacratic reform process.
Without minimizing corruption (eradication is impractical!) and involving the people in deciding what they need and what are their priorities, and making them to voice their concerns on the manner in which projects intended for them are carried out, the subject of alleviating poverty in south asia will continue to remain a topic of discussion among elites in air-conditioned chambers over black coffee and without having the real feel of where, why, what and how poverty has spread and continues in this sub-continent.
Pardon me to be harsh and candid but I reckon time has come to shed off pretensions and recognise the rude truth.
Wed, 09/26/2007 - 21:18
Amitava:
While I agree that corruption is a huge problem in South Asian countries, we have to be careful in attributing all the problems of service delivery to this one factor. One reason is the "Bangladesh paradox." Bangladesh has been at the bottom of Transparency International's corruption index for the last five years. The World Governance Indicators put it in the bottom quartile of all developing countries on most dimensions of governance. Yet this same country has seen its economic growth rate accelerate by one percentage point every decade. It has achieved universal primary enrolment and an equal number of girls and boys in secondary school. It is on track to reaching the Millennium Development Goal of a two-thirds reduction in child mortality by 2015. Finally, over the last five years, Bangladesh reduced poverty by 8 percentage points--an annual rate of poverty reduction that is twice India's. In a subsequent post, I will elaborate on the various explanations for the Bangladesh paradox. At this point, I just wanted to note that If corruption were the cause of all under-development, Bangladesh should have performed much worse than it has.
Thu, 09/27/2007 - 01:37
Shanta,
I'm in agreement with you that corruption is not the only cause or factor for impeding development and consequently poverty alleviation. What I tried to state and perhaps could not communicate properly is that corruption is one of the major and prime reason for development not reaching the desired level compared to the money spent on reform and developmental works.
I agree with your views on "Bangladesh Paradox" and having worked there for number of years, I do also find the positive difference. But the fact is that potential in terms of natural and human resources that Bangladesh has and the colossal amount of funds that has been invested by various multilateral and bilateral agencies, the development and consequent alleviation of property does not seem to be commensurate. This phenomenon is applicable to other countries of South Asia as well.
Good Governance is the critical success factor that can speed up change in the present situation and facilitate alleviation of poverty. Together with measures for good governance people's participation through appropriate communication channel is important to focus on. And, my experience of working in the towns and villages of different countries of South Asia convince me that the youth and the young generation have the talent, the enthusiasm, the sincerity and skill to bring in the desired change but needs empowerment.
So the issue is that simultaneously with reform action plan, thrust have to be given on factors for bringing in good governance and people's participation to achieve poverty alleviation in one generation.
Hope I've been able to clarify my thoughts; and thanks Shanta for sharing your views on my candid comment.