Streamlining the ICT project

A select project titled "Digital Service Transformation for Access and Resilience (D-Star) has been returned by the Planning Commission (PC) for revision on account of what the PC considers excessive costs. Submitted to the PC by the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Division for approval, the project has not been turned down for the first time. In 2023, the development project proposal codenamed TIGER was also rejected and the new prposal is a repurposed version of the first. Notably, a preceding project called "Enhancing Digital Government Economy" approved in 2022 with $295 million in World Bank (WB) support flopped. The WB was prompted to slash its fund to just $120 million because of irregularities and poor implementation.

So, that experience with the earlier proposals is hardly pleasing. The PC cannot be blamed for its 'once bitten twice shy' attitude. However, it is quite gratifying that the WB has agreed to finance the repurposed project with the bulk of the fund. Of the total expenditure of Tk31.72 billion, it is reported to provide the project with Tk31.06 billion. Most likey, the disapproval of the project in 2023 was based on the experience of 2022. The past experiences with the project may have made the PC cautious about the tall claims and rhetoric. Indeed, the new D-STAR proposal has painted a lofty vision that among others proposes to provide reliably high-speed broadband connectivity to 39 million people in the country. It also hopes to expand digital public services in order to enhance annual ICT export capacity to $5.0 billion. This target was set to be achieved, first, by 2022 and then by 2025. So, the country missed the target twice. What guarantee is there for achieving the target now? 

Given the bureautratic laid-back attitude and inefficiency, project execution in this country has ever remained slow and poor. Any inflated expenditure smacks of corruption. So, the Project Evaluation Committee (PEC) has validly questioned the costs proposed on several heads. The WB may have reconsidered its earlier decision because of the regime change. But even the bureaucracy under the interim government has felt no urgency to mend its way. After all, old habits die hard. Instead of getting tough with the civil servants, this government seems to be pampering them. The PC and ICT experts have also raised a valid question about the assessment of the earlier failures. It must come out with its strategy to re-engage with the venture and spell out how it will overcome those failures. Without a thorough feasibility study, no project can be executed smoothly and in time.  

That the rosy picture the proposal paints about the digital connectivity and services is every sane person's dream. But if the proposal and the strategy suggested by the ICT Division fuels the expectation without doing the homework, it exposes the inefficiency and a lack of seriousness on the part of all involved with the fresh initiative. After two such attempts earlier, another debacle will not only harm the cause but also send the nation on the road to regression. Clearly, this is the time for updating nations in the context of the 4th industrial revolution. So the merit of advancement in ICT is a must. The country has progressed much in this field courtesy of private initiatives. But if the infrastructre is inadequate, the tech-savvy youths cannot perform as competitively as they are able to. The project needs to be finalised for smooth implementation as early as possible.