Govt initiatives hardly pay off
The government's initiatives to expedite the implementation of the annual development programme (ADP) have failed to pay off as the execution rate remains unchanged and gets a boost at the last moment, thus paving the way for pilferage of taxpayers' money.
After coming to power for the second consecutive term in 2014, Awami League-led government took a number of initiatives. The initiatives include creating a pool of project directors (PDs), formation of a taskforce for fast-track project monitoring, a special committee for foreign-aided projects, compulsory stay at project site by the PDs, timely disbursement of funds, and training for the PDs and officials to expedite the implementation of the ADP.
But that was not reflected in the development works.
According to the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the planning ministry, the government spent only 62.81 percent of the allocation for the ADP in 11 months of the outgoing fiscal ending on June 30, down from 64.72 percent for the same period a year earlier.
AB Mirza Azizul Islam, a former adviser to a caretaker government, blamed the poor implementation of the development projects on the inefficiency and lack of accountability of the PDs.
“The government should create a specialised team, like a pool of PDs for project management,” he said.
Islam also suggested the government introduce rewards for the good performers and punishment for the poor performers.
Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh, also pointed out the inefficiency and inexperience of the PDs for this condition.
Basically, the government appoints PDs from the general cadre of officials who have no background on project management, he said.
Mansur stressed the need for introducing a specialised cadre for project management or a special team of officials with training on project management. There is a lack of institutional efficiency to implement the projects, particularly the mega projects, said Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue.
Rahman said the prime minister's directive on creation of a PD pool was a wise move that would ultimately develop a bank of project managers.
He said an efficient PD could implement a project on time and avoid cost escalation.
Despite the poor show of implementation, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said the initiatives that were taken to expedite the ADP implementation have been completed except for the creation of the pool of PDs. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed the planning ministry to create a pool of PDs in 2015.
Kamal said the government has formed a taskforce for the fast-track project and a special committee for the foreign-aided projects as well as ensured the stay of PDs at project site and regular disbursement of funds.
IMED Secretary Mofizul Islam there is a complexity over the creation of a pool of PDs as ministries want to appoint PDs from their officials arguing that their own officials know how to implement projects effectively.
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