ADB for poverty reduction

For June 27, 2011

ADB for poverty reduction

Poverty is a curse for the people of any country in the world. But in the context of Nepal it is said that Nepal is poor but its people are rich. It is the fact that a nation in poverty can never progress. There are many countries in the world which are poor and there are also many countries which help them economically come out their financial difficulties. Helping one financially is not bad if the money is invested for a long term goal to make the people independent in the long run. The matter of Nepal is a bit different, Nepal is completely sunk in corruption. Today the aids received from donors is not used in the right manner for the local development or the targeted areas. That is why, many donor countries are being discouraged by the slow motion of development works.

However, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has expressed its commitment to work closely with the government of Nepal and stakeholders in supporting poverty reduction and development critical for lasting peace and stability in the country.
Sultan Hafeez Rahman, the visiting Director General of ADB's South Asia department, voiced ADB's commitment to provide assistance for poverty reduction and development projects during a press meet organised in the capital.

ADB has been closely following recent developments in Nepal and is aware of the challenging and complex political transition the country is undergoing. Rahman also urged the government to focus on the nation's strategic development goals while taking the peace and constitution drafting processes forward.

Rahman also indicated that lack of good governance and lack of proper implementation of policy for the control of corruption might discourage ADB for further assistance.
The bank is also working to provide assistance to education sector to improve its quality to support social and economic development of Nepal but the authorities should build up their capacity for its implementation concerned.

However, Rahman also said that if the authorities fail to implement the ADB assistance as per their capacity, the assistance would be transferred to other sectors.

Rahman also noted the progress made in the Melamchi Water Supply project but stressed the need to speed up project implementation much more while closely monitoring safety and environmental issues.

Millions of billion rupees is received by Nepal in the name of various development works or projects almost every week but much of the money is spent for the management of the project rather than the project itself. So, setting up a cottage industry for 10 people is definitely better than donating a person a million of rupees.