[Bangladesh] Khaleda calls for massive cooperative movement to reduce poverty

From The Independent

Terming cooperatives as Bangladesh’s largest organisation, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia Sunday said this movement for self-reliance can be a strong tool for poverty reduction, improving people’s fortune and bring socio-economic prosperity.

"Let cooperative movement be the key support to face challenges of hunger, poverty and development. Let cooperatives be the successful tool in building a happy, prosperous and self-reliant Bangladesh," the PM told a function inaugurating the newly constructed

Cooperative Bhaban at Agargaon. Khaleda said the focal point of all activities of her government is to improve the lot of the countrymen, socio-economic prosperity and poverty alleviation—and so the present government is committed to achieving UN Millennium Development Goals.

She said they have adopted poverty reduction strategy in line with a homespun roadmap of development and hoped that the cooperative department would take necessary programmes and projects in consistence with government’s various initiatives and development planning.

The PM firmly believes that it is possible to cut poverty to half by year 2015 if the big organisation of cooperatives can utilise its capacity properly, matching with the different programmes of the government.

"The cooperative movement will have to spread extensively," she told the cooperators and their custodians.

She called upon the members of cooperatives to carry out responsibility sincerely, honestly and skilfully as honesty, unity and solidarity are key to success.

Earlier Prime Minister Khaleda formally inaugurated the four-storied new cooperative Bhaban, designed for a 10-storied building. Its estimated cost is Tk 44.73 crore.

LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, Public Works and Housing Minister Mirza Abbas, State Minister for Cooperatives Ziaul Huq Zia, Advocate Khandokar Mahbub Uddin Ahmed MP and Sheikh Altaf Ali, registrar of the cooperative department, also addressed the function.

Listing her government’s steps, projects and programmes to intensify cooperative activities and movement, Prime Minister Khaleda said in last four years Tk 15 crore loan has been given to rural poor males and females to generate self-employment.

She said 11,500 deep tube-wells, 44,500 shallow tube-wells, 20,000 power-driven pumps and 2.73 lakh hand-driven pumps have been distributed in last four years under a lending scheme among the cooperators for diversifying crop production.

Begum Zia said training programme for evolving leadership and building skilled human resources through cooperative has been strengthened and already 7,000 cooperators have been imparted vocation-specific training.

Mentioning the worthy activities and role of cooperatives, Prime Minister Khaleda said her government always gives lavish patronage to cooperatives to realize the dream of a poverty-free prosperous Bangladesh.

This time her government has implemented the cooperative rules and regulations 2004 to make cooperatives timely and effective, she told the function.

The PM said the cooperatives had started journey in this subcontinent a hundred years ago and today cooperative movement attained fruition traversing a long path.

"It has got constitutional recognition as separate sector in the independent Bangladesh," she said.