Staff Reporter :
Around 54.40 per cent funding of climate change mitigation projects was embezzled or wasted through various irregularities and corruptions, says a report of the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).
TIB conducted a study on seven climate change mitigation projects. The total funding for the projects stands at Tk 68.16 crore.
Of the amount, Tk37.07 crore was embezzled through various irregularities and corruptions, according to the findings of the study revealed on Thursday at a virtual press conference.
The study titled ‘Climate Change Mitigation Finance and Project Implementation in Bangladesh: Governance Challenges and Way Forwards’ was conducted from June 2018 to October this year.
Of the seven projects, four were on forestation and the implementing organization was the Department of Forest.
Besides, three other projects were on renewable energy and the implementing bodies were municipalities and Bangladesh
Power Development Board.
However, TIB did not specify the names of the projects.
The study indicates that all of the projects were approved on the basis of political recommendations.
There are allegations against a minister’s personal assistant of accepting 10 percent of project money in advance as bribes for three different projects.
A former minister’s aide had directly influenced the project approval and contractor selection of the implementing agency in one of the two solar powered streetlight projects, according to the report.
Although 650 kilowatts of solar power is generated per day under a project, the power is being wasted as there is no executive order to supply more than 50 kilowatts of electricity to the consumers daily.
As there is no opportunity to connect the surplus power to the national grid under the project, about 160 MW of electricity is wasted every year since 2016.
Dr Ifekahruzzaman, executive director of the TIB, said corruptions were found in the climate change mitigation projects as political influence prevailed in the
projects’ implementation.
He mentioned that although Bangladesh was the most affected by climate change, the country was lagging behind in fulfilling the climate mitigation
commitments and targets.
We are investing on coal-based power denying the renewable energy, which is opposite to our commitment,” he said.
Bangladesh has received funding from both national and international sources to mitigate climate change.
The funding from national sources amounts Tk808.72 crore and from international sources, it is Tk12,091.08 crore, says the report.
The ratio of national and international funding for the mitigation activities is 5:95. Although the lion’s share of the mitigation funding in Bangladesh comes from international sources, only eight percent of it has been spent on mitigation activities, according to the report.
Only 15 percent of the funding from international sources has been disbursed so far.
TIB put some recommendations to ensure accountability and transparency in the climate mitigation projects.
