Bangladesh has lagged behind two steps in Transparency International’s (TI) Corruption Perceptions 2020 index. Among the South Asian countries, Bangladesh is in a better position than Afghanistan. On the global list, Bangladesh ranks 12th from the bottom. According to the index (from better to worse), Bangladesh’s position has not changed for the last three consecutive years. This time, Bangladesh is in the 146th position. Corruption in government offices is one of the reasons for the decline in the country’s ranking in the index.
Due to the inefficiency and mismanagement of the administration, the implementation of the development budget is repeatedly stumbling. Towards the end of each fiscal year, the allocation for the Annual Development Programme (ADP) is revised down to make the implementation rate more attractive. According to the data provided by the Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division, the implementation rate of the revised ADP in the fiscal year 2019-20 was 80.4 per cent. After the introduction of the new pay scale, the implementation rate in the 2015-16 financial year was 92.7 per cent. At present, a number of projects are now underway and will expire next year, but none of them have reached the stage of completion.
Although the ADP implementation is more important during the Covid pandemic, its rate in the current financial year is very disappointing. In the first 10 months of the running fiscal year, only 49 per cent of the ADP was implemented. This rate is the lowest in the last five years. Thanks to various issues, project implementation is delayed and the cost exceeds the budget. Project managers do not take responsibility for project implementation. But, they are allegedly more enthusiastic about expensive cars and foreign travels. This is a reflection of the inefficiency of the administration.
Many countries in the world are adopting the salary-cut policy to deal with the effects of the pandemic. New Zealand’s cabinet, for example, has cut its salaries by 20 per cent. Many governments in the developed world including Germany, and even developing countries, have plans to reduce their spending. Even if Bangladesh does not follow that path, the rate at which salaries and allowances are raising is not increasing in proportion to the services of the administration. On the contrary, the administration is being criticised in various cases.
The prime minister has also warned on several occasions about the low quality and irregularities of their services. But the situation has not changed much. Even though the salaries and allowances of the bureaucrats have increased, their efficiency or accountability has not. The total revenue deficit is expected to exceed Tk1 lakh crore in the current financial year. The deficit in the initial budget was around Tk1.5 lakh crore. Foreign loans did not come at the expected level. Meanwhile, interest rates or money supply and new investment plans are not succeeding due to inflation exceeding 6 per cent. To it, the pressures of Covid-related spending have been added.
Meanwhile, there is not enough allocation for the poor as the government seems to be more interested in raising allocations for government employees. There are problems with the expenditure management of government institutions. We expect the post-pandemic government expenditure management will be further improved. The administration will work on their own initiative to reduce spending by avoiding the use of government resources for private purposes, purchasing goods at a much higher price than the actual price. However, very important projects cannot be postponed on the ground of cost constraints. Because, it involves huge human employment.
Finally, we also expect from government officials and employees that they will be more active in implementing the government’s plan efficiently.
