A different approach to PPP
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Mahmudur Rahman
The first reactions to the new national budget suggest that economists and experts have one major particular issue with it: the ability of the government to implement such an ambitious budget.
However, the Finance Minister's original budget of Tk 1.13 trillion for the outgoing fiscal is not much short of the proposed one of Tk 1.32 trillion for the next fiscal. With the inevitable downward revision to Tk 1.10 trillion, the facts on the table point to a modest Tk. 211 billion or 16% increase in public expenditure next year over the revised level in the outgoing fiscal. The ADP expenditure has not been matching the allocation in the revised budget during the first nine months of the outgoing fiscal. The utilisation has, thus, been short of the revised target during the period under mention, though the related picture shows some improvements over that of the last fiscal. Expenses in the non-development budget in the outgoing fiscal remained, however, at the same level, projected in the original budget.
Based on these realities, the proposed ADP of Taka 308 billion for fiscal 2010-11 is about 34 per cent higher than the revised ADP for the outgoing fiscal. This has raised the question in the minds of those who work closely with such matters.
The government's approach in consulting with chambers, businesses and civil society on issues relating to the budget and continuing endeavour by some concerned circles to have the farmers' viewpoints heard is without doubt salutary. Maybe now the Finance Minister will consider the planning, forecasting an evaluation aspects that are so crucial to the much-debated public-private partnership (PPP). Successful businesses and multinationals conduct far-reaching analysis of the country's economy and connect this with forecasting of the world economy. Their expertise, as has been proven by the banks that assisted Bangladesh obtain sovereign credit ratings, could more than come in handy for the government as it seeks to increase capacity and raise efficiency levels.
There are significant backward-linkage implications for the government to consider when it comes to taking on board these inputs and recommendations. An administration has to be light on its feet and ready to take difficult decisions when conducting a business. With Bangladesh in no position to dwell on the unreal, the government has little option but to take international economic trends including price spirals into consideration from a business perspective as well.
Merely saying that the government has not been able to implement a a sizeable part of Annual Development Programme (ADP) in a year is hardly inspiring. The carrot, in terms of better salaries, has been put in place; now is the time for the stick to be applied. For that is precisely how a business concern would run their operations. Specific objectives require to be set and measured.
Periodic reviews and discussions based on the set agenda with top business executives could lead in turn to better understanding thereby adding the fillip required for the PPP's implementation to really take off.
(The writer is a former Head of Corporate & Regulatory Affairs of British American Tobacco Bangladesh, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bangladesh Cricket Board and specialises in corporate affairs, communications and corporate social responsibility. The writer can be reached at e-mail: mahmudrahman@gmail.com)
The first reactions to the new national budget suggest that economists and experts have one major particular issue with it: the ability of the government to implement such an ambitious budget.
However, the Finance Minister's original budget of Tk 1.13 trillion for the outgoing fiscal is not much short of the proposed one of Tk 1.32 trillion for the next fiscal. With the inevitable downward revision to Tk 1.10 trillion, the facts on the table point to a modest Tk. 211 billion or 16% increase in public expenditure next year over the revised level in the outgoing fiscal. The ADP expenditure has not been matching the allocation in the revised budget during the first nine months of the outgoing fiscal. The utilisation has, thus, been short of the revised target during the period under mention, though the related picture shows some improvements over that of the last fiscal. Expenses in the non-development budget in the outgoing fiscal remained, however, at the same level, projected in the original budget.
Based on these realities, the proposed ADP of Taka 308 billion for fiscal 2010-11 is about 34 per cent higher than the revised ADP for the outgoing fiscal. This has raised the question in the minds of those who work closely with such matters.
The government's approach in consulting with chambers, businesses and civil society on issues relating to the budget and continuing endeavour by some concerned circles to have the farmers' viewpoints heard is without doubt salutary. Maybe now the Finance Minister will consider the planning, forecasting an evaluation aspects that are so crucial to the much-debated public-private partnership (PPP). Successful businesses and multinationals conduct far-reaching analysis of the country's economy and connect this with forecasting of the world economy. Their expertise, as has been proven by the banks that assisted Bangladesh obtain sovereign credit ratings, could more than come in handy for the government as it seeks to increase capacity and raise efficiency levels.
There are significant backward-linkage implications for the government to consider when it comes to taking on board these inputs and recommendations. An administration has to be light on its feet and ready to take difficult decisions when conducting a business. With Bangladesh in no position to dwell on the unreal, the government has little option but to take international economic trends including price spirals into consideration from a business perspective as well.
Merely saying that the government has not been able to implement a a sizeable part of Annual Development Programme (ADP) in a year is hardly inspiring. The carrot, in terms of better salaries, has been put in place; now is the time for the stick to be applied. For that is precisely how a business concern would run their operations. Specific objectives require to be set and measured.
Periodic reviews and discussions based on the set agenda with top business executives could lead in turn to better understanding thereby adding the fillip required for the PPP's implementation to really take off.
(The writer is a former Head of Corporate & Regulatory Affairs of British American Tobacco Bangladesh, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bangladesh Cricket Board and specialises in corporate affairs, communications and corporate social responsibility. The writer can be reached at e-mail: mahmudrahman@gmail.com)