Some 172 incomplete projects declared 'completed'

Government agencies declared 172 incomplete projects as 'completed' in the last fiscal year, in sheer waste of public money, as per official findings made in the changed situation.

Roads and Highways Department, for an example, failed to spend a single taka in the last fiscal year (2023-24) from an allocation of Tk5.86 billion to implement the Improvement of Matarbari Port road project involving a total cost of Tk 88.21 billion. So the project also achieved no physical progress last year.

Despite the spending of Tk 13.35 million, Narayanganj City Corporation didn't conduct any physical work for 'Solid Waste Collection and Disposal Management Project in Narayanganj City Corporation' in the bygone fiscal year.

Several government ministries and divisions spent no money on 89 development projects under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) 2023-24, notwithstanding having received an aggregate allocation worth Tk 26.231 billion.

And some 121 projects "failed to achieve any physical progress", says a latest report of the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the planning ministry.

The 'Annual Development Programme Implementation Progress Review Report for the Fiscal Year 2023-24' is now up for perusal by the country's highest economic-policymaking body-- the National Economic Council (NEC).

Officials have said the IMED report will be placed at the NEC meeting at its auditorium in Dhaka, scheduled to be chaired by Chief Adviser Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus, who heads the interim government installed at the end of the last financial year through a student-mass uprising.

The report uncovers alleged multiple irregularities in last fiscal year's ADP implementation, identifies 29 challenges to achieving development goals, and provides recommendations for healing the ills--many of which have been recurrent for over 40 years.

The report reveals that several ministries and divisions completed 301 projects in the past fiscal year against a target of 325. However, only 172 projects were fully completed while the remaining 129 marked as 'complete' halfway through despite having unfinished works.

Economists and experts consider the practice of declaring unfinished projects as finished a serious flaw in government financial- management system.

They argue that "politically motivated and unrealistic projects are often abandoned for a lack of commitment, while others are hastily marked 'complete' just to meet targets".

This cycle, they warn, leads to increased public expenditure, as new projects are later undertaken to finish the abandoned works.

The finance division declared completed 'Investment Promotion and Financing Facility-2' project after spending Tk170.38 million, 39 per cent of the total project cost, with a physical progress of 47 per cent.

"The projects that were abandoned after implementation below half were unnecessary, highlighting the longstanding neglect of priority setting in project development," says Prof Dr Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

After completing over 80 per cent of works of any project, if any unnecessary component is dropped, it might be justifiable in his view.

However, declaring a project finished sans completing essential components leads to additional expenditures when a new project is later undertaken to complete the leftover works.

To break this cycle, the economist emphasizes the need to move away from the harmful practice of abandoning projects midway and urges greater scrutiny at project-development and-approval stages.

The NEC approved ADP worth Tk 2.75 trillion in the last fiscal year with a breakdown of Tk 1.69 trillion from government exchequer, Tk 940 billion from loans and grants from foreign sources and Tk 116.74 billion from own funds of the implementing agencies.

However, the government dropped Tk 202.82 billion and approved revised ADP (RADP) worth Tk 2.54 trillion. All of the ministries and divisions spent Tk 2.05 trillion, 74.68 per cent of the ADP and 80.63 per cent of the RADP.

About 76.37 per cent of RADP allocation from the government allocation has been utilized and the rate was 86.19 per cent in the project-aid component and 104.48 per cent in the agencies' own funds.

"Weak project formulation, lack of funds for expert inputs, and poor feasibility studies have complicated implementation, often leading to revisions even after designs and DPPs are prepared," reads the report about the challenges facing project implementation that dim much of development hypes of yesteryears.

The lack of skills of human resources engaged with formulating projects, formulating project without consulting the beneficiaries, lack of initiatives to resolve land-related issues, incomplete design of physical works and approval of aid-dependent projects prior to confirming loans or grants are major challenges listed out in the report.

Procurement-related issues are major challenges at the implementation stage as per the report that highlights that projects are not being implemented following the procurement plan in the DPP, and also prescribes the must-have remedies.

There is a lack of coordination among several implementing agencies, and with officials responsible for formulating and implementing projects.

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