Govt to provide Tk 270 cr incentive to 2 lakh overseas returnees
Staff Reporter :
Government has initiated a project to assist two lakh insolvent returnee expatriates with Tk 270 crore incentives, higher officials from the ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment informed it to the media on Tuesday.
About 59,000 returnees including 3,695 female migrants were enlisted in the project aimed to reintegrate them socially as well as economically based on their preference, said the project officials in an exchange of views meeting meeting in the Probashi Kalyan Bhaban.
Senior secretary of the ministry Dr. Ahmed Munirus Saleheen presided over the meeting.
Wage earners’ welfare board of the ministry of the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment is implementing the project title ‘Recovery and Advancement of Informal Sector Employment (RAISE): Reintegration of Returning Migrants has been implementing the project.
The Tk 427 crore loan-based project aimed to incorporate over 200,000 migrant workers who returned home due to Covid-19 job cut in different countries of the world.
The enlistment will continued till June 2025 as the project is expected to get one year expansion.
Senior secretary of the ministry Dr. Ahmed Munirus Saleheen said that due to Covid-19 roughly half a million migrant workers returned home from different destination countries.
‘Those who are struggling to reintegrate, we will offer them the scope under the project,’ he said.
The Senior Secretary said that this was a new history of the country because through this project the government introduced reintegration concept for migrant workers which was largely missing.
Munirus Saleheen said that due to project launching issues the starting delayed but he expected that the initiative of reintegration would continue beyond the project duration.
The WEWB has established at least 31 welfare centres in 30 districts where they will provide the reintegration services.
The RAISE project director Sourendra Nath Saha said that among others orientation, counseling, assistance in getting loan, self-employment advise, entrepreneurship development training and Recognition of Prior Learning services would be provided in the welfare centre.
He said that taking the services, returnee migrants would choice their future.
Those who wish to reintegrate in home the project would linked them with landing institutions based on their wish. If anyone again wants to go abroad the project would facilitate them as well.
The welfare centres were established in migrant prone districts including Dhaka, Munshiganj, Tangail, Gopalganj, Chattogram, Noakhali, Chandpur, Faridpur among others.
WAWB director general Hamidur Rahman said that seven local non-governemnt organizations under the leadership of the International Organization for Migration have been assisting them to implement the project.
He said that the welfare service would work as referral centre to get loan from banks as well.
‘We will also provide Tk 13,500 stipend for two lakh migrants who will receive the services,’ he said.
Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited managing director Mallick Anwar Hossain, Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training director general Saleh Ahmed Mujaffor, among others, were present.
