Govt to review Q1 performance of ministries soon

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FHM Humayan Kabir
The government would review the first quarter project implementation performance of the ministries as it vowed to execute the ambitious Tk385 billion development budget in the current financial year, officials said Sunday.
Planning ministry officials said Minister AK Khandaker would examine the progress of the largest 10 ministries on Thursday and the rest on Sunday.
"We would review the first quarter performance of the ministries. Their year-long action plan on project execution would be evaluated in the meetings," a joint secretary of the planning ministry told the FE.
The government has undertaken a bloated Tk385 billion annual development programme (ADP) in the current FY2011, Tk10 billion higher than in last fiscal, to implement 916 projects.
"In the first month of the current fiscal we issued some guidelines to the ministries and other government agencies to expedite the public fund spending," the joint secretary said.
The guideline asked the ministries to take approval of development projects under the current ADP by September this year in a bid to accelerate implementation within stipulated time.
The planning ministry in a 12-point guideline has also directed the government agencies to obtain approval of the fresh projects in the ADP, included without fund allocations, by March of the current fiscal (2010-11).
The ministry official said: "Now we will evaluate every ministry's progress during July-September. If they fail to comply with the guideline, we will take tougher stance to expedite the public works."
Following the poor ADP implementation by the ministries in the first two months of this fiscal, the planning ministry has taken the initiative to evaluate the performance of the ministries.
In first two months (July-August), the development budget spenders executed only six per cent or Tk 23.76 billion though the authority released Tk56.49 billion of total Tk 385 billion current ADP in the same period.
A high official in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation division (IMED) said since the government has taken an ambitious development budget, tight monitoring is imperative to boost the public investment facilities for country's economic development.
Development experts and donors said Bangladesh's public expenditure is very poor which discourages local and foreign investment.
"Only six per cent in two months is a very poor expenditure. We are not happy with such a depressing implementation picture," another top official of the planning ministry said, requesting anonymity.
Top ten ministries and divisions have received 77 per cent of total Tk 385 billion ADP outlay this year.
They could spend only seven per cent in July-August period, due to very depressive performance by the power, roads and railway and bridge divisions, and water resources and agriculture ministries.
The second largest allocation holder -- power division, spent only four per cent, fourth largest -- roads and railway division -- two per cent, education ministry four per cent, water resources ministry nil, the bridge division one per cent and the agriculture ministry one per cent during the period.
Planning ministry officials said 'inefficiency' of the executing agencies was mostly responsible for the slow expenditure of the development budget.
A cumbersome pubic procurement system and complex process in fund release by the donors have also delayed implementation of the development projects, they said.