15pc ADP implemented in four months this fiscal

FHM Humayan Kabir The government has implemented 15 per cent of Tk 460 billion annual development programme (ADP) in the first four months this fiscal, showing a lackadaisical performance in foreign assistance spending, officials said Tuesday. Planning Ministry officials said the government agencies have spent only seven per cent of their allocated Tk 186.85 billion project aid (foreign aid) while 20 per cent from Tk 273.15 billion local resource outlay in July-October period. The Planning Commission (PC) will sit for discussion with the authorities entrusted with project implementations today (Wednesday) to identify obstacles to the way of executing the foreign aid supported projects, aimed at expediting the external fund inflow to the country. According to Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED), 54 government ministries and divisions have spent Tk 67.60 billion funds, 15 per cent of Tk 460 billion development budget, during the July-October period of the current fiscal 2011-12. The spending was one percentage point lower than the same period in the last fiscal 2010-11. The government in July-September period this fiscal has received only US$ 246 million in aid, $70 million down from that in the same period last fiscal 2010-11, a Finance Ministry data showed. "We have called the project directors of the foreign financed projects under 10 large ADP budget holders. The problems in the project implementation will be discussed to overcome the complexities that have emerged," a senior PC official told the FE. Planning Minister AK Khandker will preside over the meeting aimed at identifying the obstacles and finding out ways to eliminate the difficulties. A senior IMED official said although the project implementation rate has swelled by one percentage point to 15 per cent in the first fourth months compared to the same period last fiscal, the project aid (foreign aid) utilisation has declined. He said the ministries and agencies have performed better in utilising funds from the government's internal resources as they have spent Tk 55.10 billion from Tk 273.15 billion outlay in the current ADP. The senior PC official said six larger ministries out of 10 have performed bleakly in July-October this fiscal despite application of several policy measures to boost capacity of the project implementation agencies. The ailing Bridge Division is on the list of the worst spenders as it has spent only Tk 445.5 million, two per cent of its Tk 22.35 billion fund allocation in the development budget. Besides, five other larger development budget holders -- education, water resources, health & family welfare ministries, and the railway and the energy & mineral resources divisions are the other poor performers. The local government, power, and roads divisions and the primary and mass education ministry have implemented an impressive 21, 26, 16 and 25 per cent respectively from their development budget. The government has framed an 'ambitious' Tk 460 billion ADP for the current FY 2012 to execute 1039 projects in order to rev up the country's poor infrastructure and cut poverty and hunger to steer the national economy forward. The IMED official said they have already identified some problems in utilising the project aid including lack of experience about the donors' procurement guidelines on the part of the implementing agencies, project directors' weakness in the English language and the lengthy approval process by the donors. The ministries and divisions should strengthen their monitoring and project reviews to boost foreign aid utilisation and execute the development schemes, he added.