Staff Reporter:
The government has formed an eight-member expert taskforce to strengthen the Bangladesh Bu-reau of Statistics (BBS) by reviewing the quality, transparency, and accessibility of the data it pro-duces.
Headed by Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, Executive Chairman of the Power and Participation Re-search Centre (PPRC), the taskforce will consult relevant stakeholders to devise specific, actionable recommendations with the aim of enhancing the capacity of the institution.
The other members are- Former Director General of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics Dr Mo-hammad Abdul Wazed, Executive Director of the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr Fahmida Khatun, Chairman of the Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID) Dr Moham-mad Abdur Razzaque, Professor of the Institute of Statistical Research and Training (ISRT) of Dhaka University and President of the Bangladesh Statistical Association Dr Syed Shahadat Hoss-ain, Professor of the Department of Population Sciences of Dhaka University Dr Mohammad Moinul Islam, Professor of the Department of Economics of Dhaka University Dr Atanu Rabbani And Research Director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Dr Mohammad Yunus, said an order issued by the Statistics and Informatics Division.
1. The taskforce will formulate recommendations on the quality, accounting system and transpar-ency of all statistical activities of the BBS.
2. It will review the following issues in order to formulate specific work rules for the institution’s survey management-
A) To establish a core survey list, the cost of which will be covered from the revenue sector;
B) To formulate mandatory periodicity and pre-determined release calendar for these surveys;
C) To determine the process for forming an advisory committee with national-level experts on rel-evant subjects in conducting various surveys, preparing accounts of national income and inflation, etc.;
D) To entrust the head of the institution with the authority to publish regular reports on the re-sults of various surveys, especially inflation and national income growth, etc.
3. The task force will formulate recommendations for coordinating and harmonizing BBS surveys and publications with those conducted by other organizations under different ministries.
4. It will formulate recommendations to systematically facilitate citizens’ access to the statistical repository produced by the BBS in order to transform statistics into a ‘public good.’
5. It will review the draft amendment to the Statistics Act, 2013, as well as the existing organiza-tional structure and human resources of the BBS, and will formulate recommendations to upgrade the institution into a strong and effective national statistical agency.
The taskforce will submit a full report to the Planning Adviser within 90 days. The taskforce chairman will inform the Adviser about the progress of the work from time to time.
The Statistics and Informatics Division will provide the necessary secretarial and infrastructural support to the taskforce in carrying out the aforementioned tasks.
