The government is reportedly considering a host of measures to prevent fund wastage in public projects. Those entrusted with these tasks will no doubt have plenty of accounting and tweaking to do if they want to cut costs, but there is one thing beyond finances that can make a big impact: ensuring accountability. Public projects in Bangladesh are routinely plagued by corruption and irregularities that invariably shoot up costs, such as inflated bills, budget overruns caused by delays, post-project repairs hastened by low-quality work, etc. If all such drains on public funds can be checked properly, public undertakings would be a lot less expensive.

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A highway caught in perpetual repairs

A recent report by Prothom Alo offers an example of how public money is often wasted through inferior work. It involves irregularities surrounding the installation/maintenance of low-quality LED streetlights under two projects of the Dhaka North City Corporation. The DNCC spent about Tk 360 crore on installing about 52,000 LED streetlights, 4,479 of which went out of operation within just seven months of project completion—long before the expiry of their 10-year warranty period. Each light cost Tk 43,000 on average, which means over Tk 17 crore has been lost in this process. We say "lost" because the suppliers, despite having contractual obligations, are refusing to replace or repair the dysfunctional lights, while the DNCC, far from exerting its authority to ensure compliance, is indulging and even rewarding them with new contracts, bypassing the usual bidding process.

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Poor quality control is hurting the future of development

This incident provides a case study of how public resources are squandered through mismanagement and irregularities by both public contractors and officials. Often, contracts are given based on political considerations, and those behind such firms or the relevant officials are seldom held accountable for their eventual failures. We have frequently seen construction and installation projects go wrong soon after completion, and repair/maintenance works taken up to fix them, thus keeping the engine of profits running for those involved.

This must change. Establishing accountability at every stage of a project is not just essential to end this cycle of corruption. It will also ensure quality work, proper use of funds, and the long-term returns of public investments. The DNCC must keep this in mind, and do the needful to address its LED streetlight crisis.