MEDIA reports said Directorate General of Family Planning (DGFP) has paid ghost bills against work orders that were not either fulfilled or not implemented at all by contractual parties. Such cases of fake billing and misappropriation funds galore with another DGFP project; in which a probe committee found payments were made but the work not done.
It has been alleged that the Directorate had launched yet another family planning project titled information, education and motivation (IEM) of people at a cost of around Tk 1.0 crore to disseminate voice message of the Prime Minister to one crore mobile users to familiarize family planning services. Though two years have already elapsed the message is yet to be ready but the funds were withdrawn in full against fake bills. In yet another project for 486 workshops were mooted at a cost of Tk 7 crore but allegations said the funds were already withdrawn in full against false and inflated bills without practically implementing the project.
Reports said at some workshops foods and stationeries were purchased but the suppliers could not be identified. A hand bag cost was reported at Tk 1050 which was available at Tk 370 in the local market. It replicates a similar situation in hundreds of such family planning projects and the government leaders are apparently sheltering it and also equally benefitting. We would say this can’t go.
Surprisingly the Project Director has failed to explain the irregularities to the government appointed probe committee. But it is almost a common practice with many family planning projects in which project officials and ruling party men are allegedly grabbing public funds to make illegal fortune while the projects in most cases remain unfinished.
Need no mention that corruption and lack of accountability are destroying the directorate where transparency has no place to secure a proper picture of spending of public funds. In fact we have a totally corrupt dysfunctional government which lacks capacity to seal all such loopholes. Influential people having close links with the government leaders chart out such projects and spending. Some recent arrests of Health Ministry contractors showed how powerful people manipulate government projects.
