A media report in a national daily said implementation of the annual development programme rebounded in the last fiscal 2020-21 amid the pandemic setback and structural weaknesses. Implementation dropped to a 27-year low at 80.18 per cent in 2019-20 due to countrywide three months lockdown and bounced back to 82.21 per cent in the last fiscal. It is however nowhere near the average implementation rate of 90 per cent and above in the pre-pandemic period; which were always tailored projections to show impressive successes under the government. Spending alone is not the yardstick of progress and our experience suggests real implementation was way behind the projections. We always take high growth positively.
The report said the energy ministry had surpassed spending targets with 104.27 per cent of the allocations while the implementation rate at power division was 89.71 per cent. Science and technology ministry achieved 101.29 percent spending based on accelerated spending for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant- a giant project. On the other hand, the health services showed the worst spending record at 57.91 per cent when the nation was in dire need for urgent health delivery. The food ministry similarly spent only 55.71 per cent and spending on social welfare was 70.16 per cent when the poor were worst hit for loss of jobs having no food or cash and needed its services most. A big part of the budget remained unspent while corruption and money laundering at the health ministry made headlines leaving the nation unprotected.
We are appalled by the fact that budgeted-funds remained unspent and most government servants lived lavish lives with projects to fund buying homes. There is hardly any accountability or transparency when project contractors withdraw huge bills in collaboration with government leaders and senior project officials.
It largely speaks for our implementation record and development spending in which people’s interest is always on the backburner. It needs no mention that our government lacks quality and ability to carry out big development work except big misuse of public money and trust. Lack of efficiency, slow decision making process and huge corruption are undermining development. We lack a clear picture of real time development.
