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Prime Minister’s Adviser on Economic and Planning Affairs Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir says none of the projects undertaken during the Awami League government were realistic, accusing the overthrown administration of relying on favouritism and patronage.
He made the remarks on Wednesday while speaking about the BNP government’s five-year strategic planning framework after a meeting at the Planning Commission’s NEC building in Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
Titumir said past projects had failed both in design and execution.
“None of the past projects was grounded in reality. All of them were taken in the mould of favouritism and patronage dependence,” he said.
“Show me one project that was truly implementable and was not taken on the basis of patronage.”
The meeting of the advisery committee on preparing the 2025-30 five-year strategic framework was chaired by Wahiduddin Mahmud, the erstwhile interim government’s planning adviser.
Asked what the government would do about ongoing mega projects if it considered earlier planning flawed, Titumir said a committee had already been formed to examine the issue.
“That committee will begin work and complete it by June next year,” he said.
He said the government now wanted a major shift in the way development plans were drawn up.
“We need a major paradigm shift in the way we formulate our plans,” he said.
“These earlier plans did not work, their targets were never achieved, and there were no proper strategies for implementation.”
Titumir said earlier plans had largely reflected the Awami League government’s own investment priorities, but future planning would need to better align public investment with private-sector investment.
He said the government also wanted to move towards a welfare-oriented state while taking account of changes in the global economy.
Explaining how the private sector would fit into the strategy, he said policy predictability would be essential so that investors could plan with confidence.
He added that the government’s broader philosophy was to “democratise” the economy by ensuring wider participation.
“That means an economy with participation by all, so that every person in society can see how their participation has been ensured,” he said.
He added that the strategy would also take into account issues such as climate change and demographic change, from children to older people.
Monzur Hossain, a member of the General Economics Division (GED), said the advisery committee was expected to prepare a draft of the 2025-30 strategy within the next two months.
He said the final version was expected to be ready within two to three months.