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Download PDF Finance and Planning Minister M Saifur Rahman yesterday found himself in an embarrassing position when a meeting to review Annual Development Programme (ADP) disclosed that the performance of the two ministries under him was among the lowest in expending allocations.
Four departments under the ministries of finance and planning were listed among the 10 low performing ministries and departments in implementing the ADP in last fiscal year, a Planning Commission report revealed at the meeting chaired by Saifur Rahman.
As the disappointed minister asked the officials concerned to explain the reasons, they said the delay in releasing funds against the projects was due to ’strict conditions’ and most the projects were for technical assistance, sources said.
Ministries of law, post and telecommunications, information, and land, Election Commission Secretariat and Cabinet Division were other low performing ministries and departments.
The report showed that the overall implementation of the revised ADP in the last fiscal year was 91 per cent despite a huge cut of the original budget and the implementation of foreign aid was 88 per cent.
The Planning Division spent only 28 per cent of its allocation. The situation is worst in spending project aid and the figure is only two per cent.
The report revealed that Internal Resource Division has failed to spend a single penny against the allocation of Tk 4.30 crore.
Finance Division spent 57 per cent of its overall allocation and 46 per cent of the project aid, the report added. It also showed the Economic Relations Department spent 52 per cent of the overall allocation and 50 per cent of the project aid.
Saifur Rahman gave a direction to secretaries of different ministries about smooth implementation of projects in the coming days while the present government’s tenure expires in October, sources said.
He asked the secretaries to go ahead with the ongoing projects and take necessary steps for quick approval of 429 new projects.
Ending the meeting at the NEC conference room, Saifur told the newsmen that different ministries feel comfortable spending local money than foreign aid.
There is strict monitoring of fund utilisation by the donors while supervision of the spending of public funds by the government is lax, he said.
“For spending foreign aid there are some conditions and the donors look into various matters, like procurement, appointment of consultant and project profile,” he added.
He came down heavily on the high officials, especially the secretaries, for their lack of knowledge about expending project money, which is one of the major causes of slow progress in project implementation.
Secretaries, especially the newcomers, often refer to not getting money, Saifur said, adding, “But they do not even know that while we place the budget, they can spend money for three instalments without taking any permission from the finance ministry for approved projects.”
Saifur also criticised the tendency to finish the projects hurriedly at the end of the fiscal year, and said many such projects earlier failed to maintain required quality.
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