ADP loses gear, lowest execution in 11 yrs

Development-programme implementation in Bangladesh retards as the ADP performance so far in the current fiscal is rated worst in 14 years for government agencies failing to cross the Covid-period mark.
Available official data Tuesday showed such retrogress pace of execution of the Annual Development Programme (ADP). The Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) showed the government ministries and agencies implemented 22.48 per cent of the total ADP in July-December period-the lowest in 14 years.
During the first half (H1) of the fiscal year (FY)2023-24, the government agencies had spent Tk 618.39 billion or 22.48 per cent of the total Tk 2.74-trillion ADP outlay, IMED data showed.
The execution rate in the same period last FY2023 was even 1.05-percentage-point higher to 23.53 per cent than the current 22.48 per cent.
According to IMED, the government agencies spent Tk 602.48 billion, 23.53 per cent of the Tk2.56-trillion ADP during July-December period of the FY2023.
IMED officials say the government ministries and agencies had failed to improve their capacity even after recovery from the Covid-19 impact when the project works were affected severely.
"It is very unfortunate that the ministries and agencies have been failing to improve upon their capacity even after repeated reminders to them for expediting the development works," a senior IMED official told the FE.
In the current FY2024, the government has framed a Tk2.74 trillion worth of ADP for implementing some 1400 development projects.
An FE analysis has found that the ADP implementation rate during Jul-Dec period of the previous FY2021 was 23.89 per cent, in FY2020 was 26.59 per cent, in FY2019 was 27.45 per cent, in FY2018 was 27.02 per cent and in FY2017 was 23.24 per cent.
The IMED has had available data for last 14 years since FY2011. Over the last 14 years, the ADP-execution rate in the H1 this FY2024 was the lowest.
Asked about their role, the IMED official said they had given some special instructions and guidelines to the ministries for upgrading their project-implementation capacity.
"Prime Minister and the ECNEC meeting have already given some instructions for expediting the project execution, avoiding inflated cost and time overrun," he said.
Meanwhile, the Planning Commission (PC), amid the lower project-execution rate, has started trimming the current Tk 2.74-trillion ADP.
According to the IMED officials, the implementation rate was recorded lowest as some big ministries, including Education Ministry, Shipping Ministry, Health Ministry, Industries Ministry, and Roads and Highways Division, were trailing behind targets.
During the July-Dec period this FY2024, the shipping ministry was the worst performer as it utilized only 9.23 per cent of its ADP allocations while the Secondary and Higher Education Division 11.64 per cent, the Health Services Division 14.99 per cent, Industries Ministry 15.93 per cent, and Roads and Highways Division 16.97 per cent.
The Bridges Division performed best in terms of spending public money, scoring 32.85-percent ADP-execution rate.
Besides, the ministries of Railways, Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry, and Agriculture also showed better performance with a rate of over 30 per cent.

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