A Tk61.29 crore project intended to support people displaced by climate change has allocated only Tk8.10 crore directly to beneficiaries, while nearly 87 per cent of the funds has been earmarked for consultants, management and other administrative expenses.
The Ministry of Social Welfare project, financed by the German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), aims to provide small-business grants to 300 climate-displaced people and improve the livelihoods of nearly 1,500 others.
However, the Planning Commission declined to recommend the project for approval after questioning its expenditure structure, including a proposal to spend Tk29.62 crore on 473 local and foreign consultants.
Documents from a Project Evaluation Committee meeting held on 5 June show that the project’s total estimated cost is more than Tk61.29 crore. It was designed to run for one year and nine months in Khulna, Satkhira, Rajshahi and Sirajganj.
Of the total allocation, nearly Tk8.11 crore, equivalent to 13.23 per cent, has been set aside as direct grants for beneficiaries.
The remaining Tk53.18 crore, or 86.77 per cent, has been allocated for consultants, project management, office rent, training, travel and other administrative costs.
The proposed consultancy expenditure has drawn particular scrutiny. The project seeks to engage 473 local and foreign consultants for 300 direct beneficiaries at a cost of Tk29.62 crore.
It also proposes spending Tk3.51 crore on overseas travel and training for officials and Tk1.27 crore on domestic travel.
A further Tk10.07 crore has been allocated as project management charges, while Tk3.19 crore has been set aside for office rent.
The Planning Commission also raised concerns about comparatively high spending under several other heads, including the purchase of information technology and telecommunications equipment.
Shah Md Helal Uddin, chief of the Planning Commission’s Socio-Economic Infrastructure Division and an additional secretary, said the commission had refused to recommend the project because of the imbalance between beneficiary support and administrative expenditure.
“We did not recommend its approval because a very small amount has been allocated for the beneficiaries,” he told the TIMES of Bangladesh.
“In contrast, significantly higher expenditure has been proposed for consultants and other sectors.”
The controversy has deepened following information that activities under the project had already begun before the proposal was considered by the Planning Commission.
Helal Uddin said the proposal did not mention that the project’s activities had already started.
As the initiative is funded by a foreign donor, however, the Planning Commission’s refusal to recommend it may not necessarily halt activities financed directly by GIZ.
The Department of Social Services, the implementing agency, has sought to distance itself from responsibility for the expenditure structure, saying the proposal was prepared in line with conditions set by the donor.
Md Sajjadul Islam, director of the department’s Planning and Development Wing, said the project was being implemented under an agreement reached through the Economic Relations Division.
“This is a GIZ-funded grant project,” he said.
“The project proposal was prepared in accordance with the donor agency’s conditions under an agreement reached through the Economic Relations Division. In many cases, there is no scope to go beyond the structure determined by the donor agency.”
Sajjadul claimed that the department had also objected to the proposed expenditure structure.
Asked why the project had nevertheless been submitted for approval, he said the matter should be addressed by the Ministry of Social Welfare.
Mohammad Selim Hossain, senior assistant secretary at the ministry’s Planning and Development-1 Branch, said the rules governing foreign-funded projects differed from those applied to projects financed by the government.
“Under project rules, a government-funded project cannot begin without a recommendation from the Planning Commission,” he said.
“However, foreign donor agencies spend their grant funds according to their own procedures or begin their activities independently.”
Selim said he could not confirm officially whether GIZ had begun implementing the project.
“However, like you, I have also learnt that they are carrying out their part of the work,” he said.
Asked why the donor would seek government approval after beginning project activities, he said GIZ might have wanted to formalise the initiative through the government’s approval process.
“As a donor agency, it may have wanted to legalise the project,” he said.
“Perhaps it wants approval through a specific process to remain protected on its side.”
Mohammad Nazmul Ahsan, joint secretary of the ministry’s Planning and Development Wing, declined to comment and referred questions to GIZ.
“You should speak to GIZ about this,” he said.
An Economic Relations Division official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said GIZ generally spent its funds according to its own procedures.
“In some cases, there may be instructions to prepare and implement a project proposal through the relevant ministry, but this is not mandatory,” the official said.
The official, however, confirmed that development project proposals are prepared by the ministries concerned.
