The World Bank last week threatened to scrap its development programmes with the communications ministry because of the government’s failure in addressing corruption allegations regarding the Padma bridge project and seven other projects that were implemented during the tenure of the previous BNP-led government.
Communications Secretary MAN Siddique told the Dhaka Tribune: “There are currently two projects worth a total of $1bn that are ongoing with the donor’s support.” The bureaucrat however denied any knowledge about the WB’s threat to cancel funding.
The two projects are the clean air and sustainable environment project, where the lead enterprise is the Ministry of Environment and Forests, and the Dhaka repeat bus transportation project. Under this WB project a new bus link would be introduced between Gazipur and Jatrabari. Implementation of the first one is already underway while the feasibility study of the other is ongoing.
Another project with the donor is mentioned in the World Bank website called the Second Rural Transport Improvement Project, which is scheduled to be implemented by April 30, 2018.
The donor’s warning came in a meeting between the newly appointed WB country director, Johannes Zutt, and Finance Minister AMA Muhith at the Secretariat last week.
Sources in the Economic Relations Division said the WB country director informed the minister in the meeting that the global lender would cancel fund release for the communication ministry projects unless the government ensures transparency and accountability in the ongoing infrastructural projects. The donor also said it is unlikely to provide any technical assistance in the sector as well.
The corruption allegations came up in the board meeting of the Washington-based lender recently and their decision was conveyed to the finance minister, sources said.
Planning ministry sources said the donor had requested conducting a thorough investigation of some completed projects. However, the government did not respond to the requestsand the lender itself identified seven projects which could be tied to possible corruption including the Dhaka Urban Transportation Project under which the Mohakhali Flyover was built.
On July 2, 2012, Finance Minister AMA Muhith told the parliament that following Bangladesh’s liberation, the donor had only flagged seven projects under the communications ministry for possible corruption. However, all those have already been implemented during the regime of the BNP-led four-party alliance and the Awami League government did not want to revive the issue and pay the price as the World Bank raised the conspiracy of corruption allegation in Padma bridge project, sources said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also said in the parliament, “World Bank had cancelled funding for seven projects under the communications sector including the Dhaka-Mymensingh four-lane expansion project due to corruption. We had started the work in the Dhaka-Mymensingh project with our own funds but BNP government gave it to World Bank.”
BNP’s former communications minister Nazmul Huda, however, denied any corruption in the projects that were completed during their term. “In the seven projects, a slight allegation was raised about the Dhaka bypass project in the ECNEC.”
Alleging that the finance minister raised the matter to protect Awami League, he said: “They are trying to protect themselves from the corruption allegation of the Padma bridge project by raising the issue of these seven projects.”
