IMED hamstrung by lack of logistics, manpower

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FHM Humayan Kabir
The Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED), the government's vital project evaluation body, is hamstrung by lack of logistics and shortage of manpower which, officials say, might scuttle the development schemes.
Planning ministry officials said Saturday inadequate power, absence of logistic support and shortage of manpower are the major obstacles facing the IMED in its work of monitoring and evaluating the development projects.
The ill-equipped government organ could hardly monitor even all the big development projects though the government spends nearly 30 per cent of its national budget on those schemes, they said.
"We need to visit every development project three to four times aiming at monitoring their proper execution and effective utilisation of the public fund. But we fail to perform it properly," acting secretary of IMED Abdul Malek told the FE.
The government has allocated Tk 305 billion for implementation of the development projects under the annual development programme (ADP), which is 27 per cent of the Tk 1138 billion national budget for fiscal 2010.
Some 1048 projects have been taken up for implementation under the current ADP.
Currently, the IMED has only 47 inspection officials to monitor the large number of projects across the country.
The project monitoring and evaluation division has only 210 employees out of its total 274 posts created more than two decades ago.
Mr. Malek said: "Our manpower and organisational structure are more than two decades old. Now, the structure is failing to support monitoring and evaluation of all he projects properly."
"The IMED's structure was framed when the country's budget size was only Tk30 billion in early 80s. How can the structure work now when the ADP outlay has increased more than ten folds over the last two decades?" the secretary asked.
The government's lone project monitoring body has no vehicle for a visit to project site and no offices out of Dhaka city to support the visiting inspectors from headquarters.
"Usually, we depend on the project implementing agencies to visit the project site. Is it possible to submit a proper investigation report on irregularities against the project executor who give us logistic support?" another official questioned.
Moreover, the ministry or the division usually dose not take any action against its project executing agencies despite submission of investigation report on detection of corruption in any project, he said.
The IMED prepares a monitoring and evaluation report of all the development projects every year. It sends this to all the ministries and divisions to take necessary actions.
"But they, most of the time, do not take actions to remove the anomalies," he said.
Abdul Malek said: "We have recommended the government to set up offices in every divisional town. If that happens we will be able to give more effort to the project monitoring and evaluation works."