Current fiscal's ADP revised downward

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FE Report
The National Economic Council (NEC) on Thursday revised the annual development programme (ADP) downward to Tk 230 billion for fiscal 2008-09 following a poor implementation rate.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over the NEC meeting where the original ADP size of Tk 256 billion has been reduced by 10 per cent.
"The ADP has been revised to make necessary adjustments with the enhanced demands as well as requests for reduction by the respective sectors and ministries," planning minister AK Khandaker said at a press briefing after the meeting.
Out of the Tk 230 billion revised ADP, Tk 100.1 billion will come from the local sources and Tk 129.9 billion from the external sources.
In the Tk 256 billion original ADP budget, Tk 110.1 billion was estimated to mobilise from the local sources while Tk 145.9 billion from the foreign sources.
The project implementation rate is 41 per cent in the first nine months of the current fiscal, he said.
"The prime minister has expressed her dissatisfaction over the poor performance and instructed us to increase the implementation rate," the minister said.
He said the prime minister has asked the authorities concerned to implement projects as fast as possible, and ensure their quality.
"We are hopeful of 85 to 90 per cent implementation of the revised ADP in the whole fiscal," he said.
In the history of Bangladesh, even the revised ADP has never been fully implemented.
The power sector will get Tk 28.12 billion worth of allocation in the proposed revised budget.
"The government is determined to improve the power situation and it is trying its best to accelerate the development of the sector," Mr Khandkar said.
The prime minister, he said, also assured that the power and energy sector would get as much money as it could absorb.
During the first three quarters, the power division spent only Tk 13.42 billion of their total Tk 30 billion worth funds in the ADP.
The number of projects under the revised ADP increased to 1,032 from 904 existing projects in the original ADP.
The agencies spent only Tk 104.95 billion during July-March period and the implementation rate was poor during the same period in fiscal 2008 when only 36 per cent of the money was spent by the executing agencies.
Ten of the large spending ministries and divisions, which have received 79 per cent of the total ADP allocation, have also performed badly this year.
Only nine per cent projects were implemented in the first quarter and 15 percent in the second quarter.
Inefficiency and procrastination of the administration, lengthy public procurement system and complex fund release process by the donors are the main reasons behind the poor performance in project implementation, experts said.
In the proposed revised budget, the rural development and rural institution sector received highest allocation of 22 per cent followed by education with 14 per cent, power with 12.23 per cent and transportation with 11.21 per cent.
The revised ADP outlay in last fiscal was Tk 225 billion, followed by Tk 216 billion in 2006-07, Tk 215 billion in 2005-06 and Tk 205 billion in 2004-5.
The government usually slashes the ADP outlay in the third quarter of every financial year because of failure of the implementing agencies to execute their projects in time.