A major policy shift comes in Bangladesh's development paradigm as the interim government suspended the ongoing 8th five-year plan (FYP) to prioritise human-resource development to end reliance on foreign hands.
The government is also going to empower the ministries to approve projects ensuring priority needs and checking misuse of funds, Planning Adviser Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud said Wednesday.
"At this moment, we (interim govt) are putting the FYP on hold. We will favour the human resources-development and the foreign aid-supported projects to get preference," the Planning and Education Adviser said about their government decision.
"Our workers and labourers are not so skilled. Many foreign workers are working here. So, we have to make our human resources competitive. So, our preference will go to this sector mostly and for this it is now required to suspend the FYP," he told journalists after the maiden meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) under this government.
Presided over by Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, the first ECNEC of the interim government also endorsed four projects costing a total of Tk 12.22 billion.
Prof Mahmud regrets that the previous governments were supposed to develop human resources, which didn't take place properly. "So, we need to upgrade our capability of our manpower. We need some fresh projects in education-and IT- sector development for competing with global challengers."
Now they will look after vocational-and IT-education development for the up-skilling of human resources. "We should not run our factories more with foreign manpower. It is time to invest in our own human-resource development," says the Economics professor about resetting national priorities.
About the change in project-approval process Prof Mahmud said: "Our advisers are confident on taking their own projects and checking misuse of funds. The ECNEC meeting today empowered us to review the project preparation, approval and implementation process. We will work on it. Then the ministries will be empowered."
There have been reports that authorities concerned had so far been more interested in undertaking local-funded projects than in those funded by foreign development financiers that require them to go by strict rules in spending money and close monitoring.
On this score, he said, "We will prefer the foreign aid-supported projects rather than local-funded ones…we'll not allow the politically motivated and less- returnable projects, too."
With the change of wind in the polity, foreign lenders are coming forward with their financial support at this moment. "Now we have to be cautious in taking up projects. We will always prefer human-resources development," he said, citing example of the recent actions of the World Bank on Bangladesh's development.
Asked about the LDC-graduation recipe Bangladesh follows, the noted economist said, "As long as we will not get the trade preference, we have to go for bilateral and multilateral trade deals with different nations.
"Besides, there is huge gap between Bangladesh and the next LDC country in terms of economic size. So we have to leave the LDC club very soon."
The adviser notes that for the new thinking about the country's economy, as well as exploring the sources of finance, the government has recently formed a taskforce to get the new direction on the economy. The taskforce will submit report within three months.
Professor Mahmud, however, makes it clear that the government won't wait for taskforce report. "We won't need to wait for that, we're preparing some new projects for quick execution."
Over the years, the country has witnessed construction of so many infrastructural projects. But, in terms of human resources, especially education and training, it is lagging far behind. "So, we've to do something in this regard very quickly," he says about the urgency of a turnaround in development planning and execution.
Asked about suspension of the 8th FYP, Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud said, "In reality, there are no similarities of this plan with the national budget framed by the Ministry of Finance. It is not a matter of suspension of the plan afresh, as it already remained suspended."
About future 9th Five-year Plan he said that obviously the next political government would frame their plan as per their choices, probably to turn Bangladesh into a higher-middle-incoming or developed country. "We won't take any major political decision in this regard."
He adds: "Five-year plan is a document which incorporates directives and philosophy of political government, which we should not..."
The 8th Five-year Plan (8FYP) for July 2020-June 2025 period was approved by the National Economic Council headed by then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on December 29, 2020. And the now-deposed government started framing the 9th FYP which was supposed to be implemented from FY2026 to FY2030.
About possible revision of the current Tk 2.65-trillion Annual Development Programme (ADP), Dr Mahmud said they would go slow for some days, and after 4-5 months, get the real picture of revenue earnings, foreign-aid inflow and other scopes of resources which will determine the revision.
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