20 July 2004
An article from The Daily Star, Dhaka, highlights civil society criticism of ADB policies ...
ADB policies draw flak from civil society group, The Daily Star, Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 20, 2004.
A group of 10 non-governmental and voluntary organisations yesterday criticised Asian Development Bank (ADB) alleging that the Manila-based lending institution has systematically spawned and promoted poverty through its development policies.
The Bangladesh Civil Society Working Group (BCSWG) formed to give inputs to ADB's new Public Communication Policy (PCP), at a meeting in Dhaka made a statement where it has questioned the role of ADB in development of the country.
"The notion of development, which ADB promotes, is premised on a false notion of what constitutes poverty and the solutions required to eliminate it," said the statement of the group comprising Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE), The Innovators, Coastal Development Partnership, LOKOJ, SEHD, ActionAid Bangladesh, VOICE, IED, BAPA and Uttaran.
Bangladesh received a total of $40.7 billion from ADB till 2002-03 and the amount of aid started declining in 1980s. Such squeeze in the level of aid, donors' imposition of their 'single-minded approach' of development packaged in privatisation, deregulation, liberalisation continue to remain unabated, the statement added.
The BCSWG also criticised ADB's policies saying that the results of such policies have brought more miseries to the people instead of welfare.
The group said the current policy regime has choked the development process in Bangladesh, where 90 million people do not have access to primary healthcare, 100 million lack access to adequate sanitation, 12 million under-five children are malnourished and 110 million are denied access to electricity.
Because of these policies, socio-economic disparity has increased in the country, the statement said. The national income share of the bottom five percent of the population has declined from 1.03 percent to 0.67 percent, while that of the top five percent increased from 18.85 percent to 30.66 percent, it added.
The working group alleged that on the issue of natural resources such as use of oil and gas for domestic purpose the ADB took an anti-people stand, having overt bias towards transnational corporations.
It accused the ADB of not maintaining the project requirement and said people have resisted projects such as Khulna-Jessore Drainage Rehabilitation Project (KJDRP), Sundarbans Bio-diversity Conservation Project (SBCP) and Modhupur National Park Development Project (MNPDP), popularly known as Modhupur Eco-Park.
"Past and ongoing projects of the ADB projects show that the appropriate information is not provided to the appropriate people at the appropriate time. There is lack of transparency and democracy within ADB's own structure," the statement said.
The civil society group has asked the bank to disclose project and programme documents, ensure transparency, and make public all the proceedings between the bank and the government.
For information on other ADB disclosure policy consultations in Asia, Europe and North America see: