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brought
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from
the
previous
Revised
Annual
and
communication
technology
(ICT).
Successful
Every year the ADP is revised. It is a legacy. The original ADP for the
fiscal year (FY) 2012-13 had an outlay of Tk 550 billion (55,000 crore).
Last week the Executive Committee of National Economic Council
(ECNEC) revised it and reduced its size to Tk 523.66 billion (52,366
crore). A proposal was there to lower it to Tk 503.66 billion (50,366
crore). But in view of the ensuing general election the ECNEC did not
go for a large cut. While the resources decreased, the number of projects
increased to 1,190 in the RADP from 1,033 in the original ADP.
Generally it happens due to political consideration. There is also a list
of 600 unapproved projects without allocation. These projects have been
listed to appease the public representatives. 35
There has been a drastic cut in project aid implying inability of the
concerned ministries and agencies to utilise donor money. The allocation
of project aid and local money has declined by 14 per cent and 4.5 per
cent respectively. This is also reflected in the Japanese Debt
Cancellation Fund (JDCF). It is a fund of interests on Japanese loans
which Japan gives back as donation. The ministries and agencies have
the incapacity to utilise this fund. Interestingly enough, allocation from
the JDCF has been reduced from Tk 13.38 billion (1,338 crore) to Tk
7.89 billion for the FY 2012-13. Although, agriculture and health sectors
deserve priority, the allocations are only 5.5 per cent and 7.9 per cent of
the total ADP outlay respectively. Moreover, attention has not been
given to the regional disparity and to 15 million downtrodden people
living in char (reclaimed land) and coastal areas.
Only Tk 170 million (17 crore) has been earmarked in the RADP for
such special areas. A list of 26 projects under the Public Private
Partnership (PPP) initiative has been included in the RADP with no
allocation. Successive ADPs over the last four years were aimed at
launching projects under the PPP without success.
So far as implementation of ADP is concerned, the Planning
Commission was satisfied with the project execution performance of 44
per cent during the period of July 2012-February 2013, which was 6.0
per cent higher than the performance in the corresponding period of the
FY 2011-12. A total of 23 ministries and divisions recorded the
implementation progress ranging from 44 to 61 per cent, 16 ministries
and divisions saw it within the range of 30-43 per cent and 10
ministries and divisions 21 to 28 per cent. The remaining four
ministries and divisions saw it within the range of 4-17 per cent. The
worst performers were the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with 4.0 per cent
and the Bridge Division 10 per cent.
ADP implementation in Bangladesh has always been criticised over the
years. Data show a trend where, with some exceptions, the
implementation of revised ADPs has been found to be around 90 per
cent. The exceptions were: 104 per cent for the FY 1977-78, 100 per cent
for 1980-81, 101 per cent for 1988-89, 112 per cent for 1989-90 and 100
per cent for 1999-2000. Only in the FY 1988-89, utilisation of the
original ADP outlay was 100 per cent.
Still many projects were found to have seen time and cost overrun. A
meticulous observation makes evident the problems with effective
implementation of development projects in Bangladesh. The problems
are there at four stages: (i) preparation and approval of projects, (ii)
their inclusion in the ADP, (iii) problems during project implementation,
and (iv) the post-implementation problems.
Who is to blame for such anomalies? Certainly, they are the ministries
and agencies involved in preparation, implementation and monitoring of
development projects and, more importantly, the people behind them.